Metaphysical Salvos
by Miss Macabre Grey
Summary: The prime rule of thieves is to never be caught, yet when Bakura is caught for the first time by the actual law, fate does well for him to get caught by the heart. Perhaps his heart is not snagged by love in the beginning, but hate and desire mix as four intertwined males start their millennia-old romance. Thief/Citron/Deathshipping
1. Just

This is my first YGO fanfiction, so I do admit this chapter may come off very slowly and tediously from inexperience. I used the Abridged first names for Yami Bakura and Yami Marik simply for convenience. Ironically I actually hate the name Melvin and such, but I didn't want to use a name the vast number of people would be unfamiliar with. Plus, Florence Bakura always makes be smile for some reason. Despite that all, I don't really want to use the Abridged personalities. I like all the characters in both version, but seeing canon personalities really make my heart all warm and fuzzy.

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Each life makes its own imitation of immortality.  
-Stephen King

{M*S}

Bakura's eardrums still buzzed even several minutes after the trial ended. The judge slammed down his gravel with a hard boom, yelling out the final punishment. Bakura payed no attention to the words purely because they sounded so annoying coming out like a death threat from the supposed law enforcer. Even with the trial over, Bakura had to stay to sign nitpicky paperwork and agreements. Of course, the thief hardly cared about the trifling details of his sentence, but he had come with his brother, Ryo, that refused to let a single thing slide. Considering that he, the Great Thief Bakura, had been caught in the act, he assumed just the wound to his pride should satisfy the killjoy government. Apparently, the law only wanted to rob him of his pride even more with various lame punishments.

"Bakura? Bakura!" his brother half-yelled. Considering how half-spoken the boy was, his yell sounded only slightly more than his normal speaking volume, but it vaguely reached Bakura's bored mind. "Have you heard a single thing the lawyer's been saying?" Ryo asked when the lawyer left the room for a new pen.

"Sod off. It's not like this matters. Didn't he mention that I 'lucked out' by getting such a passive punishment?" Bakura snarled. Ryo would just explain it all to him later in a less annoying "Lawyer-Speak," so Bakura saw no point in trying to understand all the formal wording. The only reason the thief still sat in the courthouse was due to the fact that the paperwork still needed his signature and Ryo's nagging.

"Passive? You have to complete 200 hours of community service in exchange for going to jail! And you have to pay back all that you stole, _and_ you're banned from the store, which means that _I _might as well be banned because no one would tell us apart. I liked that store, too!" Ryo rambled in defeat. Bakura always knew just how to screw his life over.

"Please, like that's true. We may be twins, but no way am I obviously a pansy like you."

"Very funny, brother. You may not be able to be mistaken as me, but people come after me with enough blind rage to want to beat me up just for looking like you. You really need to stop getting into such trouble. You're only 19! You're too young to mess up your life. The law sees you as a legal adult, too, so you have to change at least a little."

"I suppose you want to tell me to 'act responsible' or other rubbish, right? Well, shut it. I take responsibility for my actions; however, I just do not act how you want. When we get out of here, you know I'm just going to ste-" Bakura wisely cut himself off when the lawyer reentered the room.

"Ah, hope you did not mind the wait. If we can get the last signature, Florence, you and your brother may leave," the ignorant lawyer said passing the fresh pen to Bakura.

Bakura almost broke the pen in half hearing the lawyer use his real first name. As sloppily as he could, Bakura signed his legal name, Florence Bakura, and slammed the pen down. "Let's go."

Ryo signed and nodded to his brother already at the door. Ryo picked up the papers they needed and waved goodbye to their seemingly nameless lawyer. Bakura scowled at the action, so Ryo refrained from doing anything similar the rest of the way home. For a meek young man, Ryo could admit that the last thing he wanted was to hear Bakura bitch about the entire situation at home.

Strangely the two brothers walked home in odd silence. Ryo expected a lot of angry curses and complaining, yet the other male remained so quiet because he was beyond angry enough to yell. Ryo ran fingers through his long, snowy hair and stared at his twin with his chocolate brown eyes. The passive twin had a few suggestions to make to help his brother, but he held his thoughts carefully to not tip the burning kettle.

Bakura stomped along the steps up to their apartment suite, almost breaking the steps from the pressure. Ryo made quick work unlocking the door, and Bakura pushed him aside as he stormed into their home. Ryo checked the time, 5:52, and decided to start dinner that had more meat than usual, Bakura's favorite.

Bakura still remained silent to the point of deeply unnerving his brother. Ryo almost burnt the noodles that went along with the steaks from sheer uneasiness. Bakura sat at their small table to the side and waited to be served with a cold, deadly glare.

"Do-done," Ryo called out grabbing the plates and silverware. Ryo placed the noodles on the table first and then the steaks. Needless to say the silverware and noodles were pointless on the table as Bakura ate the meat mostly using his own hands. Ryo decided to let Bakura grab the other steak originally for himself, and ate the untouched noodles.

Bakura devoured the meal and burped once finished. He snarled showing his teeth and glared at Ryo, who was finishing the last of his own meal.

"Something the matter?" Ryo asked softly.

"Well? What am I doing!" Bakura barked. "You can't expect me to actually do the shit they want!"

Ryo furrowed his brows and stood his grounds. "Oh, yes, you will. You will do as the gracious law commands and stop your fury. If you didn't want to face the punishments, you should have not done the crime or not gotten caught."

"What? You actually take _their_side? My own brother? Traitor!"

"I am not a traitor. I am just not as stupid as you to think you can just ignore this. You _will_serve your community service hours, and I'll help pay for the stolen items."

Bakura scoffed and showed a menacing fang. "Like hell would I waste my bloody time trying to help the bloody community."

"You. Don't. Have. A. Choice," Ryo explained punctuating each word. "The library at my college is always accepting volunteers. I already have a job there, so I will pay your debt if I can see you actually working."

"A library? You want me to get hours at the bloody LIBRARY? What do you want from me next? Recycling the plastic that holds together my six-packs of beer?"

"Well, there is nothing wrong with helping the dolphins not get caught in the little loops and what not!"

"It was a damned rhetorical question! How the bloody hell are you the one in college?"

"Because I am the one that has to be able to support us in the future! Your stealing little things to help get us by won't work anymore, Kura, and you know that. If- if I can't get a good job in the future and you get caught again then … ," Ryo trailed off his words in a murmur. The soft-spoken twin knew Bakura only stole to help get the two some sort of financial stability; he just never wanted to accept the fact that something legally "bad" was all that kept them afloat for so long. Bakura would steal again like he had been doing for years, and Ryo really could not change that, not yet, but it ate away his conscience to the bare bones.

Ryo despondently looked at his brother before turning to their apartment. Space and luxury were nonexistent within two very small bedrooms, a half-burnt kitchenette, a single moldy bathroom, and a small miscellaneous room that connected all the others. Without the stealing, the twins would have been on the streets living in boxes years prior. Ryo realized how unfair he acted scolding and yelling at his brother for stealing. The smaller boy sighed and took up their dirty dinner plates to the sink.

"I'm sorry, Kura. The library really is not the worst way to get your hours. You can walk with me to the campus and everything. It's only a few minutes away, and a new semester is starting soon. Everyone will be rushing back, and they might give bonus hours if you help them prepare," Ryo spoke softly and placed a gentle hand on his twin's shoulder.

The thief threw the hand off his shoulder and stood up quickly. "Fuck it. I'm going to bed. I'll bloody think about it. You aren't going to give me a damn choice, right?" Ryo shook his head. "Fuck you, too," he replied slamming the door to his messy room.

Ryo sighed and debated knocking on the door and leaving his brother to cool. Like a fool Ryo chose the former and went into the chaotic living space.

"Piss off," Bakura spat from his bed.

"You know I won't. I wanted to say sorry for scolding you. Just know I want to help you. Please know I love you, 'Kura. You're my brother. You're the reason I work hard."

Bakura said nothing for a bit with stoned, icy eyes. Soon he realized that his brother wouldn't leave until he said _something_. "Did you always know that stealing things was how we've been making it so long?"

"No, not always. I thought the bills were just not as expensive as I had expected. I didn't know you paid for the water bill and some food and other things. I found a receipt for some groceries and a bill you forgot to hide once or twice, then put it together. I … Thanks, brother. For taking care of me for so long."

"Shut the bloody hell up. If you think I care about you, you're wrong. Chances are those retarded cases where twins always feel what another twin feels could be right, and if something happened to you, karma would make sure something similar happened to me."

Ryo released a small laugh at his brother's very lame excuse to be the macho, heartless, jerk. "Thank you anyway, 'Kura. I'll see you in the morning. Think about my offer and sleep well."

Ryo flicked off the lights and closed the door softly before heading to his own room. The kind male missed his brother's scoff.

"How does the idiot expect me to 'sleep well,' and think about what the hell to do. Bloody idiot. Hope it doesn't run in the family," Bakura mumbled before drifting to sleep.

{M*S}

"Move your damn ass out of my bed!" a nasally, angry voice barked out. The owner of the voice's violet eyes shone with impatience. "You sleep on the couch!"

The receiver of the yelling glared back with equally his violet that held even more anger than his twin. "Like hell! You got the bed yesterday!"

"I got the bed yesterday because it is _my_ bed. This is _my _appartment, and you are just lucky the neighbors have not heard you yet! Just take the damn couch, so I can go to bed. Unlike you, I actually have to do stuff tomorrow. You are going to get out of my bed, Melvin."

The other man, Melvin, growled and muttered a foul retort in their native tongue. Melvin only made himself more comfy between the sheets and turned his back to the other, gravity-defying blond hair sticking up even laying down. The only thing said in English was a distinct mumble, "Fuck off, Marik."

Marik finally had enough and ripped the covers away from Melvin. "Do not speak that damned language in this house! We are not in Egypt anymore, and your English is awful. A bit of practice might make you actually able to sound like you are educated. Every possible employer never hires you because you cannot even tell children where the cereal aisle is!" Marik fumed in the foreign language. Truthfully, yelling was a lot more simple in the ancient Egyptian the two grew up learning, but neither were actually in the country, nor did they need to be reminded of their time in the nation. Marik struggled for months picking up basic words while his twin seemed to cruise away time without even learning how to spell "cat."

Melvin shot up from the bed in an attempt to punch Marik, but the twin narrowly missed. "I said fuck off! Is that good enough for your precious English-only ears? It's not like I need a job. You took enough gold from the tomb to sell that could last years. You shouldn't even bother applying for school."

Marik growled, showing his nicely grown canines. "You are an idiot if you think a few gold relics would last a few years. At best they will pay for my tuition. Still, unlike you, I actually _work_, and I paid for the bed you are sleeping on. If we weren't twins, I would have kicked you out by now, you deadweight!" Marik screeched landing a blow on his younger brother's arm. Marik aimed for the face, but after so many years knowing each others' fighting pattern, they managed to dodge most attacks.

Melvin accepted the punch as a distraction for his own assault to Marik's exposed stomach. Melvin always hated the way his twin would flamboyantly flaunt his abs with a short cut lavender hoodie and low-cut black pants. At least with a nice fist imprint, Melvin knew his idiot brother would actually wear a semblance to real clothes. Marik hadn't even changed into his sleepwear out of annoyance of changing in front of Melvin. Melvin always assumed his brother was the worst type of in-the-closet faggot. They were _identical twins_; Marik had the same junk Melvin did, only Melvin thought he pulled it off better because at least he didn't look like a woman.

Marik felt the blow and knew it would bruise. Thankfully, his natural mocha skin tone hid most blemishes, but clearly Marik would not be wearing his usual revealing clothes for awhile. Both Marik and Melvin reached their pinnacle of anger and waged a full out war on the very bed they fought over.

Bites, punches, kicks, and a few more hits in more private areas later and the two lay panting on the floor. Neither had enough energy to get up and claim the bed, so on the floor they both stayed. Marik made a mental note of gratitude that at least he set his alarm already for the morning. Marik would have to go to the local college and finally enroll his classes before he missed the approaching cut. Even if he didn't want to, Melvin would be coming with him in a vain effort to convince his twin to enrich his life with education they never had he opportunity for before. Either Melvin would go to the college or Marik had clipped "Help Wanted" ads from various sources he could fill.

_'Tomorrow,'_ thought Marik with a mixture of anxiety, hope, fear, and excitement. _'Tomorrow I'm going to officially start the path to a better life.'_ Finally the young man closed his wary eyes to embrace sleep and sweet dreams after a long day.

{M*S}

A/N: So if anyone is wondering what the heck _Metaphysical Salvos_ means, think of it loosely as an "Abstract, intangible warfare" or "Continuous attacks that transcend reality." Isn't it funny how one word leads to another? I admit I have unorthodox methods, but everything I write is a work of art in progress or at its best. I know this should be left unsaid, but** please review**. I really am new to this fandom, so a bit of encouragement really gets me moving sometimes. I try to give other authors as many reviews as I can, so knowing others would do the same for me puts me on cloud nine.

Sorry for rambling and I hope you come back for more. Grey is out!


	2. Must

Ah, descriptions, my dear friend. To my dear reviewer that thanked me for supposedly making the last chapter full of description, HA! You don't know my style very well at all, do you? I figured about 30% at least of the last chapter was dialogue of a 2k beginning, while 10% of this chapter (roughly twice the length prior) is dialogue. The rest is my beautiful narration.

Still, if there is a reader that is turned off from reading words, why are you on apressing site. XD Be happy I provide you with glorious plot. All the mindless sex rots the soul, you know. Plus, we should have more class than that~

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**"There is no absolute point of view from which real and ideal can be finally separated and labelled." - T. S. Eliot**

[M*S]

Bakura awoke in a cold sweat. Something told him that he had had a nightmare, but by the time Bakura stirred into consciousness and looked at the blaring red "3:34" on his digital clock, he already forgot what the details were in his dream. The angry teenager ran his fingers through his snowy hair and felt the slight moistness from sweat. Vaguely, Bakura remembered two twin shadows highlighted with gold, but nothing seemed to stand out; he only likely remembered gold because it was one of the few things Bakura liked.

For all his years stealing, Bakura never managed to have much of the pure, rich metal. Anytime the thief snuck in someone's home, most golden items were jewelry, especially rings. The women, and even men, wore their rings to bed, as if wedding bands meant something to them still in modern society. Sometimes a cheating spouse would take off a ring and leave it unattended to steal, but Bakura rarely had those lucky nights. Fortunately the boy managed to pocket some necklaces and trinkets, but most of the time the only _real_ gold someone would own was a wedding ring and the rest were either knock-offs or extremely deluded. Such jewelry hardly even paid off the trouble of stealing.

Bakura longed for riches and freedom from burdens. Why would stealing be wrong if it put food on the table for not only himself, but also for his brother? Bakura had every right to try to live beyond the scraps the world left over for the twins to survive on. Bakura had not become a thief for fun and merriment; he did it because no one else gave a damn about two boys that might as well be orphans. Bakura and Ryo were forced to provide for theirselves from an early age; that meant no one would ever hire them for real work. The best the boys could do honestly was mow a lawn or paper route, but that ended with changing times. Bakura worked a modest job when he got to the proper age, but was cut back due to the economy. The choices given were live on the streets, in a worthless orphanage, or starve. Bakura chose none.

The twins technically had a father, but they rarely received word from him. At best the man sent a letter with a measly few tens in whatever currency the place he occupied used showing that he still lived. Once Bakura went to the bank to cash 126 Colombian pesos, but the teller scoffed and told him that he might as well keep the money as a collector's addition due to the measly exchange rate.

The twins no longer even lived in their birth nation. Born into a modest family in England, the twins had faired well enough. Alas, Death is unbiased and a tragedy befell the family. The father wanted to bring the boys on his expeditions, but that came to an end quickly. The only place they stayed was Egypt for a few months before their father buried himself in his work- practically literally because he was an explorer. Once he realized their lives lacked proper stability, he shipped them to America to "enrich their education and lives."

"Fuck," Bakura murmured realizing that he fully woke up. Not much happened other than just his laying in bed, thinking of all life's troubles, but thinking always kept Bakura awake and going. The snowy-haired devil hated _thinking._Thinking never led to positive outcomes. The only time he needed to use some brainpower was when he went out to snatch something, but that was more wit than intelligence. Instinct and skill kept Bakura from being caught; thinking left room for hesitation, which led to his downfall_._

Even when Bakura shut his eyes, he felt no exhaustion or tiredness. The dark images from his nightmare came as blurry shadows, and he feared the figures slightly. Not the fear as in "I'm going to die, save me!" but more like the sense that he had no idea what they meant. Bakura searched his mind for any reason behind the fear, but no revelation came. Thinking once again proved to be a treacherous habit.

Despite his best judgement, Bakura knew the only way to stop one bad habit was with another, stealing. Hell, he actually had no desire to steal, but he wanted to know he _could. _All that interested Bakura was being able to sneak into someone's home leisurely. Bakura knew that until he had been caught, the twiddling of a mouse's thumbs were more detectable than his silent footsteps. Bakura wanted to just prowl knowing all prey would be caught in his sneaky claws. Breaking and entering was only a crime if you broke something, which Bakura always avoided.

Bakura pulled on a turtleneck sweater that covered up his lower face and some old sneakers that were so worked they actually muffled his steps. With the stealth of a small, trekking spider, Bakura slid from his room's window and onto the fire escape below. The only peeve Bakura had against stealing was getting in and out, especially from his own run-down apartment.

After about a minute Bakura walked proudly down the street. The neighborhood never completely died down because of other lowlives running around with their own ill intent or people living in wakeful fear of the crime festered area. Bakura would not even bother going into the homes of the people around the area knowing that they had nothing to offer, which is why a lot of the time they left all they had of almost begging to be stolen.

The thief never went for one neighborhood twice, or at least never at close intervals, but he hardly felt like walking and went to a familiar area. There was another apartment complex a few blocks away that had people from all corners of life Bakura liked to visit. The rich normally lived higher up, but they grew wiser since his past visits, and they weren't worth the time getting up so high that night. Instead Bakura smirked and snuck into the fourth floor by a tree. The room he found, 418, actually had a simple window by a corner easy enough to shimmy, so Bakura went for it.

The window opened with a quick creak, but the thief knew how to mostly silence the noise. Bakura slid himself down inside the room, carefully stepping on unoccupied spots on the shaggy carpet. Bakura looked around the complex and noticed nothing fancy. The place was not _ghetto_, per say, but it had the bare minimums; a small and stained couch, an old tv, a kitchenette, and a chipped wooden table with two miscellaneous chairs. Thankfully Bakura had not gone in the adventure wanting to actually take anything because the most he would have taken was a dirty plate from the sink.

Still, Bakura crept in deeper, leaving the window open to make escape easier. Bakura felt called, beckoned to go exploring. No voice told his to take anything, but every fiber in his being wanted to find something- a hidden treasure in what came off as a worthless hut. Only two doors were shut, which he assumed would be a bathroom and a bedroom.

Bakura happened to open the bathroom door first and found nothing but the basics. Only one last crevice in the flat remained unexplored, and Bakura opened the door with contained anxiety.

The thief's breath hitched when he saw two decently sized males sprawled on the floor. The two looked closely related, and Bakura never saw them before in his life, but they still looked so damn _familiar_. One slept in a black undershirt and boxers, and he had ridiculously high blond hair, even if it was just bed head. The other, the one that caught Bakura's attention more, looked much more well-kept; he had only slightly ruffled hair, a lavender hoodie and black skinny jeans on. Bakura almost wondered how far he could get without the other waking if he tried to change the other's clothes, assuming the clothes were uncomfortable to sleep in. Suddenly Bakura finally realized how much the two shined a yellow gleam in the pale moonlight, something that shouldn't happen with as dark a tan as theirs.

Bakura leaped with grace over the larger of the two to the more feminine man. The snowy-haired thief leaned down to examine the shocking metal around their box and figured it to be pure gold. Not cheap, modern styled gold, but ancient gold that looked like it had been made beautiful and valuable from centuries of existence. Bakura turned to the closer cracked slightly ajar and saw a sliver of yellow. Greed and awe consumed the thief, and he went towards the closet.

When Bakura opened the door, he had not expected the absurdly loud creak to occur. That alone startled the thief and the smaller inhabitant, but what really woke the male was Bakura's louder curse.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, causing the man he stared at before to wake into drowsy consciousness.

The man leaned on an elbow and gasped, staring at Bakura's shadow. The tan male assumed a demon had finally come for him due to the horns and crooked smile on the shadow. Only when he actually turned to see Bakura sprinting off to the door did he see the mess of white hair and a small portion of porcelain colored skin. He looked at the closet and noticed it opened more that it had been before. Finally the man awoke completely and shook the other man.

"MELVIN! Get up! Someone's robbing us! He's getting away! Catch him!" he screamed runner towards where the thief headed.

Melvin's eyes darted open with rage and glared at the other. "Fuck! I'll kill the bastard if he thinks he can run! Hurry up, Marik!" he commanded trying to hurry on his feet as best he could while basically half asleep still.

Bakura was halfway out the window when his chasers pulled themselves from their room. "Stop!" Marik yelled making a sprint for Bakura.

Bakura only looked at him for an instant before letting the window shut itself behind him. Marik and Bakura's eyes met for a brief moment, and Marik stopped in his tracks, compelled to not follow the other.

Melvin ran and tripped over Marik's still standing body. "Dammit! Why aren't you chasing him?"

Marik glared at his twin. "He's already gone. Just … I'm calling the police. I wouldn't have been able to catch up anyway," he reported picking up the phone to dial 911. Marik knew someone else had stopped him, something in the half-demonic, red-brown eyes. Something about when their eyes met assured Marik that they would meet again soon enough because the devil works in mysterious ways.

[M*S]

Bakura ran for his life back home. The thief knew cops would be on their way, so he hid in a leafy tree, removing his suspicious sweater and discarding it to the nearby branches. Bakura looked at his palm to observe the item he randomly took. At the moment he barely had any clue what to grab and just took something before sprinting away.

The time Bakura spent cooped up in the tree, he spent studying his newly acquired treasure. Bakura knew the item was crafted from only the purest gold, but a bit of something else that was darker, something he resented deep down. The strange item called to him, however, like he destined to have it. Bakura could not see himself ridding the gold, either.

The item shaped similar to a dream catcher. A circular ring fused with a triangular piece in the center. In the center of the triangle was a unusual, fully-opened, mystic eye. From the bottom of the ring were five pointers. All of the pieces looked genuine and well-made. The only thing new or non good was the string that held it.

Bakura fastened the rope behind his neck and slipped the ring under the shirt he had beneath the sweater. The thief could not believe he had almost been caught, but he suppose the gains outweighed the risk. The man chasing them, even if Bakura saw him for the briefest moment, had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. Bakura would be that even though lighting was minimum, those eyes shined more preciously than any gold in the entire world. Not that Bakura would ever risk seeing those eyes again; he almost got caught because of those mesmerizing violet orbs.

Bakura looked from the tree to see no one was really around by that point and stealthily sneaked down. aleven the thought of walking home at that point exhausted him, but at least he managed to make it rather effectively. Bakura had no interest in taking the fire escape up to his room, and willed himself to just take the elevator due to the off chance of Ryo actually waking up. The front door could be just as sneaky.

The elevator ding, and, not surprising, Bakura was the only passenger. The Briton stepped inside and welcomed the floor his room was on graciously. The room door hardly made a sound as he opened it, and he went back to his bedroom.

From his window Bakura faintly noticed the sun's rising. Bakura knew the outing lasted longer than expected, but by then he stopped caring and wanted the needed sleep. His head rested on the pillow and Bakura finally felt a peaceful slumber wash over him.

He slept until Ryo knocked on the door, just loud enough to be heard, but not enough to startle Bakura into full consciousness. The younger twin growled and checked the clock. 7:12. Bakura got to sleep less than an hour, and was not a very happy morning person.

"Kura, wake up. We need to get ready if we want to walk to the library in time to set up," Ryo's gentle voice called out from the other side of the door with more knocks.

_'Really? More walking? Is there a god? Does he fucking hate me?'_ Bakura grumbled in his thoughts. If only Bakura actually believed he would completely get away with mass murder, so that then he could kill he entire law enforcement, college workers, and his brother for bringing such a horrible fate to him.

"Bakura!" Ryo half-yelled once more.

"SHUT UP! I'm getting up, damn it. You take longer than I do to get ready, so move it yourself!"

Bakura felt the footsteps of someone walking away and released a sigh. The angry twin wanted to chance sleeping for another twenty minutes because Ryo really did take a long while to prepare himself, but he knew twenty minutes would only make him more irritable. The thief might as well begin to ready, starting by removing his old shirt and pants.

Bakura stared at himself in the mirror for a moment. The mystic ring hung low on his chest, and all he had on his bottom were dark green-blue boxers that puffed out a little. Oddly enough, the attire almost felt familiar, but he shook the feeling away. Bakura needed new clothes to change into, but after smelling the old sweat and grease on his body, Bakura opted for a shower before Ryo decided to hog an hour long shower.

Bakura removed the stolen ring and put it in his almost full drawer. Mostly wrappers, some socks, or random papers filled the drawer, so Bakura knew Ryo had no reason to ever look inside it. With the ring safely hidden Bakura grabbed clean clothes and headed toward shower. Ryo seemed to opt out of a shower momentarily to cook breakfast, and Bakura half-wanted to wait until whatever smelled so good was finished. Regardless, the sweaty male stepped in the old yellow shower and turned on the water, which took several minutes before it actually became the right temperature.

Bakura scrubbed himself thoroughly from scalp to toes. Finally his skin looked like its proper off-white pale instead of a grungy gray. His hair dripped a pool on the floor, but he figured Ryo would dry it later because Bakura forgot a towel and merely tried to squeeze out some of the excess water. As girly as it sounded, Bakura always wanted to invest in a cheap hair dryer for Ryo's birthday or something and use it for himself. Cutting the hair wasn't an option for either boy, but waiting to dry natural irked them, especially having it fluff so much.

Bakura dressed into some light blue, worn jeans and a striped T. As much as Ryo hated it, Bakura wasn't dressed to impress, so wearing something else would be a waste. All he needed was food in his stomach and Bakura would be mostly ready to go. He stepped out of the shower into the small kitchen and smiled at the plate of eggs, bacon, ham, and toast at his seat.

"You look ready," Bakura stating taking a mouthful of food and looking at his twin.

Ryo wore his usual teal button-up with a pale yellow sweater over it. His baby blue slacks covered part of his old black tennis shoes. With big brown doe eyes and fluffy white locks of hair, Ryo's appearance screamed momma's boy. All the boy needed were a pair of white wings and a halo, and no one would dispute his angelic aura.

"No talking with your mouth full! I took a shower last night, so I just changed. Breakfast good?" Bakura nodded and Ryo chuckled. "I almost put spinach in the eggs because I know how much you love it, but I decided I would be selfish and eat it all."

Bakura growled at potential healthy food and shallower another bite. "Touch my dinner with your gross spinach and you'll eat through your nose."

Ryo only cooked the last of his meal, spinach included, before eating himself. Ryo combed his hair over once more while Bakura put on shoes and the two left the house.

[M*S]

Melvin and Marik awoke from a painfully annoying alarm ringing. The larger male slammed a hand over the clock on the bedside table, effectively silencing it. Melvin decided that since Marik let he thief get away, that he deserved the bed, and Marik was too tired and confused to argue. Both warily got up and decided to get ready.

Melvin avoided a shower and just put on a plain black shirt and khaki pants. Marik, being more inclined to look nice for the school, showered quickly to wake up and wash away the dirt from the floor.

The smaller male saw a few faint bruises and glared at his mirror's image. The mirror in only reflected his upper body with a dim bulb flickering in the bathroom, but Marik could still tell he probably looked like shit. If nothing else Marik definitely felt worse than he looked.

"Stupid incompetent cops. How hard is it to catch one little thief?" Marik muttered aloud. Marik hardly slept at all. Every item in the closet was precious and irreplaceable. Of the seven items Marik took with him, he only had six. Without the complete set, the value a museum or collector would give drastically decreased. He would lie and say there were only six, but his sister worked for a museum and had advertised them already, helping the twins gain the best offer.

"Are you done yet?" Melvin yelled pounded impatiently on the bathroom door. "You're worse than a fucking woman!"

"So sorry for having to cover up the bruises you left me last night!" Marik called back sarcastically. "I am almost done anyway."

"Almost done" for Marik normally meant at least another ten minutes, but he wanted Melvin to leave him alone for a while longer. Marik towel dried his block hair and brushed it so it that his hair flowed silkily. Instead of his usual outfit Marik threw on a dark sleeveless shirt and a black with the zipper open. His jeans were a dark color with black shoes. Normally Marik would take time to remove the gold accessories when he did not wear his usual outfit, but after the previous night he did not want to chance anything more to get stolen and let the somewhat mismatched items remain.

Marik opened the door after a few minutes only to have Melvin shove him to the side. "Fucking finally!" the larger twin exclaimed likely heading straight to the toilet.

Marik chuckled and went to have toast and jam for breakfast. Marik figured Melvin could be less of a lazy ass and make his own food, so refused to make his twin something to eat. _'The big idiot probably already ate. We will head out right when he gets out of the bathroom. Hope he at least washes his hands.'_

"Yo, ready yet?" Melvin asked almost civilly. Marik noticed his hands looked completely dry, but could not bring himself to care enough to make Melvin wash them.

"Yeah, let's go. I want time to get the books and stuff."

Melvin shrugged but compliantly enough followed Marik out the door.

[M*S]

"Okay, Ryo! I have the hour log in the back for your brother. Make sure he monitors how many hours he earns and have proof, or they cannot be verified," a short-haired brunette girl explained. Her big blue eyes shined with excitement at the idea of having a new member on the library staff. "His name was Florence, right? I'll make his name tag now."

"Er, no!" Ryo blurted in a rush. "He hates his name. Just write 'Bakura' on it, Tea. I'll go get him from the hall while you make him a tag." Tea nodded in understanding, so Ryo left to find his brother.

Ryo left Bakura standing outside the library while he set things up, but that does not mean Bakura could not still manage to get into trouble in an empty hallway. Thankfully Ryo found his brother only leaning on the wall as he slept. Bakura really could not sleep while working, so Ryo shook him gently to bring his brother back into consciousness.

"Time to get started! We just need to get your name-tag. You start by alphabetizing the miscellaneous books in the "D" part of the Nonfiction section. Shouldn't take more than an hour," Ryo said with an innocent smile. With any luck Bakura would do as he should and finish his service hours quick and effectively.

"Oh, joy. I love Nonficion. Maybe I'll find some nice educational book on popular pornography." Ryo glared as best his gentle eyes could at Bakura, and the younger twin sighed in annoyance. "Whatever. Let's just get the day over with."

[M*S]

"Success!" Marik exclaimed looking at his class schedule. "All midmorning classes with a balance of he tough and simple courses. Business and Dance Tuesday, Calculus BC Wednesday, Simple English Thusday, and then Ancient History Friday. This is so great, right, Mel?"

Melvin had been looking away from his brother with a bored expression on his face, picking at the ear closer to Marik for wax with his pinky. "Huh?" he muttered out without the faintest interest.

"Ew! Stop, idiot," Marik ordered rolling up his papers and swatting at Melvin's arm. "Show at least some pride that your twin is getting a real education."

"Yeah, yeah. Like it matters. What the hell type of degree needs classes like those? You're all over the place."

"Shut up! I am just testing the waters right now. I will choose what major to really pursue after a try my hand at a few different things. This is the first time I get to really try new things, do not spoil my moment! I need course books soon, but I will pay for them when I have all the money. Let us see if I can use anything from the library selection."

"Whatever. So long as they have porn or something in the library, I don't care. Lead the way, Fruit."

Marik almost raged and attacked his twin, but held himself together for the most part. "Shut up! I read that if one twin is gay then the other is 75% likely to be gay, too. You are practically calling yourself a fruit, idiot." Marik seethed through his teeth. People and their worthless opinions normally did not matter to Marik, but his twin had a way of getting in his head and driving him crazy. "Let us just go to the library."

Marik looked at his map for general directions and led the two to the library doors. The school campus setup came across straight forward enough with buildings in accordance to degree with the cafeteria, cafe, library, and vibrant garden in the center. Dorms were west of the main campus just a short road away, but Marik had no use for those. All the Egyptian needed were a few books the could help with his coursework or keep him somewhat entertained.

Melvin went through the library doors first, eager to ditch his brother and find something else in the Colosseum of books. Marik did not bother to stop him and merely went to the nonfiction section.

Marik had not the faintest idea of how to navigate around the fortress-like setup. Stumbling around the different rows, he came across someone with the word "staff" written on the back of his shirt. Marik walked to the person, a girl?, with long white hair, but felt far too familiar around the other. He heard the other snore, a very masculine snore, and assumed the other was male and sleeping on the job.

Marik could not believe the audacity of a worker not working, and roughly shook the man's arm. "Hello, sir. I need help finding basic books for English. Do you has anything like that?" Marik asked in a bitter nasal voice.

The man turned and slowly revealed his maroon eyes. The man looked furious for a moment before registering the man before him. An audible gasp escaped his lips as their eyes met, and he almost yelled a distinct "You!" when he recognized the face.

Marik beat him to it, however.

"How dare you! You are the one! It is you- the one from last night! I _know it _was you! You-you-you-" Marik lost his words and just looked at the thief's name-tag "Bakura! I have your name! I am reporting you right now, you thief!"

Bakura growled and pinned Marik's wrists to the bookshelf, keeping his own body inches away. "Not another word. This is a library, idiot. People do … library things here. Like sleep. I can have you kicked out, you know," Bakura said in a low snarl, keeping his cool as best he could and ignoring the new moistness on his palms.

"Kick _me_ out? I will make sure you are sent to jail, you lousy thief! You took something priceless from my brother and me. You_will face justice."_

"Sod off, you damned pansy! I've never met you in my life."

"You may not have _met _me, but you had all the nerve to_ steal _from me, thief! Let me go if you are really an innocent man," Marik ordered while his glare met an even feistier glare from Bakura. Neither looked away, but Bakura did let go of Marik because pinning him did not help his case, and Marik could press charges just for assault.

"Happy? I should kick you out for all your yelling and bitc- Ryo!" Bakura gasped switching moods. Ryo had definitely screamed, and Bakura knew the other was in trouble.

Another, more menacing sound echoed in the once silent library. A blood-freezing laugh right after Ryo's scream.

"Melvin!" Marik cried out to himself. Neither noticed the other, but both Bakura and Marik ran to where the voices originated.

The two turned the corner to see Melvin holding up Ryo by the collar with one arm, pressing the benevolent boy into the wall harshly.

"Ha ha ha! Have enough, thief? Payback isn't so nice, is it?" Melvin cackled. "Give me back my stuff and I'll get the police take you instead of me."

"Get away from him!" both Bakura and Marik barked in unison. For all the anger Marik felt, he could tell those were not the same eyes as before, and that his twin was holding the wrong person. Bakura just fumed at the thought someone could actually mistake little Ryo as him, and felt slight protective urges for his kin.

The library would not know peace for a long time.

* * *

I LOVE REVIEWS/COMMENTS! If you would like more, leave a kind comment and I will deliver at my earliest convience just because there would then be a demand. No demands and wants, no need for update. Got it?

I would like to thank you guys that did comment! I feel like I cheated because most of you (all the ones they weren't anonymous) only reviewed because I commented on your stories prior, but thank you anyway! Now you have to do it again to not hurt my poor widdle feewings. Plus, you love this story and me, right? RIGHT? T~T


	3. Lust

This is likely the last of my more timely updates. School is about to start, and I blew off loads of summer homework. Also, senior year is a B^+]#, so likely I won't have time to update once a week like I have been. Such is life, but the story shall go on!

* * *

**Every experience is a paradox in that it means to be absolute, and yet is relative; in that it somehow always goes beyond itself and yet never escapes itself. -T. S. Eliot**

Melvin barely registered the shouts from behind him. The large male turned to face his brother and another man that greatly resembled the one he was holding by the neck. The Egyptian really did not know what was going on, but when he saw the cruel eyes of the other white-haired male, he turned back to see the beautiful eyes of the one he held. The rage he carried for the small man subdued as the gears in his head began to turn.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Melvin bellowed, practically throwing Ryo on the floor.

"What's going on is you trying to hurt my brother over nothing!" Bakura yelled back.

Marik punched Bakura in the jaw, causing Bakura to stumble backwards from the surprise hit. "You call robbing something precious to us nothing?! Maybe if you did not want your brother to get hurt on accident you should not have fucked with people that can fuck back!" Marik would normally keep his temper controlled at least a little better in most situations, but whatever Bakura had in his eyes sparked the fireworks of emotion Marik did not even know he had. Something in those fiery orbs told Marik to not hold back his emotions, like their eyes just knew each others' feelings just by sight.

Bakura's stumble was short lived as he quickly regained his senses. Instinct kicked in, and Bakura went in for a swift blow to Marik's stomach, the same sore area Melvin attacked the previous night. Marik went down to his knees and cradled the already weak spot, but knew he had to get back up. Bakura already planned to launch a kick at the fallen Egyptian.

Melvin rushed in and kicked Bakura before he managed to land his hit to Marik's face. Bakura retracted his leg and reverted to holding out his fists.

"Want to fight me, huh?" Bakura coyly asked, smirk not leaving his face.

"No, I want to destroy you to the point the police won't even want to bother sending you to jail because nothing they do will compare to me." Melvin held up his own fists and went in for a hard attack on Bakura's jugular.

Ryo gasped at the hits Bakura was taking. Sure, his brother landed a few, but the fight was bound to land Bakura in the hospital. Ryo's upper body still hurt from Melvin, but he could not simply watch his brother get pulverized. Ryo moved his legs to the other three in a worried rush. Tea had left to the main building, but if she or someone else came they would call the police and get the four in major trouble. Granted, Ryo was scared out of his mind of the two strangers, but he still ran to the taller one and clung on his waist, halting an outgoing kick.

"Please, stop it!" Ryo begged squeezing the man tightly. "Please!"

Melvin lifted his leg and tried swatting it around, but Ryo remained. The temperamental man already had enough of Ryo's getting in the way, but a pang of something that was not anger nor a fist also hit his chest when he looked down to see Ryo's pleading eyes. "Get the hell off of me, you bug!" he ordered trying to kick the boy off.

Ryo buried his face into Melvin's leg to wipe away stray tears. The boy looked up and inhaled a long breath before quickly begging, with tears already falling, his desperate plea. "Please stop hurting him! I-I can't let you hurt him! I kn-know he is not th-the best person, but he is-isn't BAD! My brother wouldn't j-just steal things. He steals t-to help me and him live," he grew more quiet towards the end, but he was not done. Once again Ryo's tear-gleaming, innoncent, begging eyes looked up into Melvin's annoyed and confused ones. Ryo knew something changed.

Ryo gave Bakura a look that explained that the brother better not interfere before letting go and going on his hands and knees pathetically. "You can hurt me all you want, but don't call the police. Bakura is all I have left. I'll pay you back, and you can beat me all you want so _please_ don't take him away. He's all I have. He … is all I have," Ryo stated in a soft voice, but with a slightly fierce blaze in his eyes.

"You can't possibly be serious? They are the ones that should be taken away for disturbing the peace and violent accusation!" Bakura yelled to his brother, wincing a bit at the force he used when trying to get up.

"No! You do not steal anymore! You do not deserve to be punished. You only stole to help me, so I have to do this, Bakura! Let me help you for once," Ryo cried out, still on his hands and knees.

Marik scoffed, but silently acknowledged his guilt. Not only would he likely have been kicked out of the college if he had been caught making a ruckus, but he also would have jeopardized the job of an innocent man. Marik knew Ryo would be too good natured to turn in Marik for all the trouble he sparked, so the bitter Egyptian decided to take some pity on him alone and reached a hand out for the other to get on his feet. Bakura, on the other hand, deserved no pity, and Marik punched him back down on his way to Ryo. The Egyptian would save his vengeance for Bakura at a more apropos time in a more controlled method.

Just as Marik leaned down to help Ryo up, Melvin shoved his brother away. "Leave the little wuss there," Melvin dryly spat out, already turned around and avoided facing the other makes. "We're leaving. We can deal with them later!" Melvin growled before dragging his shocked brother to the exit. Surprisingly Melvin had not landed another blow on either Ryo or even Bakura before leaving.

Ryo coughed and collapsed on the ground. Bakura limped over and punched his brother on the arm, albeit not too hard. The twins' eyes locked briefly, but Ryo turned away first. "I'm sorry," he whispered, knowing what angered Bakura.

"Idiot! You are not the one that should be apologizing! Are you bloody challenged?! You _begged_ those idiots to beat you for _what_?! What did you accomplish?!" If Bakura felt any less beat up, he would throttle his brother.

Ryo looked at his brother and opened his mouth to speak, but another, more feminine voice cut him off.

"What happened?!" Tea yelled in a panic, rushing over to the twins. "What happened to you to? Are you alright?"

"I feel bruises forming on my whole bloody body, and I think a damn rib is broken. Other than that I feel peachy after just being assaulted in a bloody LIBRARY," the venom in Bakura's sarcasm made Tea visibly wince, but she perked up quickly.

"What did they look like? Did they take your money? What could they have wanted? Do you know if they plan to come back? Oh, jeez! I need to get you guys major help!" Tea took out her cell phone and dialed her friends. Most of them worked or lived on campus, too engrossed in the idea of never leaving each other, and assured her they would come soon.

"There's no need to worry. B-Bakura and I have had worse. He was joking about the rib. T-tell them to not bother," Ryo pleaded, eyes big and puffy. "I'll take him to the clinic."

"Nonsense! We are friends, and friends don't let other friends suffer alone. Let us carry you to the clinic!"

"N-no, please. Friends should respect each others' wishes and trait each other, r-right? Just go and take care of the library. I think me and Bakura... We have to clock out early, okay?" Ryo asked better able to ignore his slight pain. Bakura received a much harsher treatment, so his main concern was getting the stubborn man help, which he would refuse from anyone but himself.

Bakura scoffed at getting any help from anyone, but then felt a pain jab his torso and chest, and he wondered if maybe he did have a broken rib. Bakura was sure that would be proper punishment for his continuous sarcastic comments. Regardless of his pain, Bakura kept any more thoughts and comments to himself until Tea finally left, trusting Ryo's judgement.

"I'll fill in his hours for today myself, okay? Let's just pretend he got a good five today, so don't even think if bringing him back tomorrow!" Tea clipped as she walked away, going back to her normal duty.

Bakura glared at his twin before speaking, "You aren't really going to take me to a bloody clinic, are you?"

"Well, I can't leave your wounds unattended. Who knows what those guys did to you!"

"Just take me home! At least I can rest there, and we have a first aid kit if you're so bothered."

Ryo wanted to dispute more, but the words died on his tongue. Knowing Bakura, Ryo assumed that the twin would insist on walking home. If the wounded brothers wanted to reach their flat by dusk, then they would have to start quickly. Ryo knew walking so much was a horrible idea, but they had no money for a taxi nor would Bakura's pride accept any rides.

"Let's just go, alright?" Ryo said in a dull voice. The sweet boy hooked one arm under Bakura's, and Bakura grabbed the other's waist.

"Start walking," Bakura commanded trying to steady his steps. The two had a long way home.

[M*S]

To say Marik was enraged with his brother would be an understatement. Just as Marik planned to apologize, his idiot brother dragged him away. For _what_? To use the _toilet_! The first place Melvin ran to once he left the library was the restroom just around the corner of the exiting hall.

"Damn you, Melvin! You could not hold it in?" Marik's angry tone seethed from the other side of he stall Melvin was in. The blond heard Melvin unzip his pants, but also a thud on the stall wall Marik leaned on. "The hell are you doing in there?!"

Melvin only released a pleasured gasp in reply. The stall wall shook a bit as another gasp escaped Melvin's lips. Marik turned in shock and confusion. People would not normally sound so happy using the restroom, so what was his brother doing? Once Melvin growled out a moan, Marik's curiosity possessed him and looked through the stall's outrageously thick gaps.

"You sick pervert! What are you doing in there?!"

"Shut up!" Melvin groaned out as if struggling for breath. "I …" but he never finished the statement because a moan cut the man off.

Marik refrained from even bothering to talk to his twin. Clearly jacking off in a public restroom mattered more to the idiot Egyptian. When another student came in the use the restroom, Marik merely gave him a bored look and mouthed, "Bad pizza" to which the student nodded in solemn agreement. Marik figured out not to eat the school pizza, at least.

Melvin cared not about anything outside his small stall due to the still throbbing erection in his hands. The blond hardly ever needed to actually masturbate because normally his tastes were so picky no woman could arouse him long enough, yet with every stroke the image of a certain white-haired _male_ came and made him even more needy. Of course Melvin really was not too engrossed about figuring out his sexuality dilemma while he still focused most thoughts through his lower head. Marik should be grateful Melvin managed enough brainpower to at least make it to an almost-secluded restroom.

Melvin just did not let up. Marik should be happy that they would share the gene for endurance like that, but the older of the twins began to worry. No other students remained in the area, but still Marik feared getting caught. Obviously the two had done worse on the campus not even an hour prior, but it still nagged at his conscience. Hell, the stalls even smelled like marijuana, but that did not mean Marik wanted to be a part of the delinquent crowd. Melvin needed to hurry and stop being an idiot.

Marik opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by an elongated moan. Melvin masturbated whenever and wherever he wanted at home, but he hardly ever made a sound. The only clues to what Melvin had done were the white creamy stains on whatever happened to be in his line of fire. Hearing his brother legitimately _aroused_never seemed possible before the less-than-normal day.

Melvin knew he was getting closer when he began to think of Ryo beneath him again, squirming like he had when the taller male held him up. Melvin remembered the eyes that screamed, "taint me!" taunting him in every fantasy position he imagined. Despite how sweet the chocolate orbs looked, Melvin saw what the eyes had seen. The eyes knew cruelty and truths of the world Melvin either had not experienced or could never understand. When Ryo pleaded on his knees and their eyes met, no fear for himself was displayed. Melvin only saw a blaze that no hurricane could extinguish. Melvin felt the heat, trapped in the flames, and wanted to embrace the fire with hot passion. No one ever looked at Melvin so long-fully and without fear.

Worst part was how close Ryo inched to Melvin's crotch. From the time Melvin saw the lad, he intended to fuck the boy over but with the version that meant violence. Melvin developed the anger into undeniable _lust_ for Ryo. If Melvin hesitated to leave even a moment later, he would not have left until he claimed the mesmerizing, kneeling, _begging_ creature at his feet. Anything Melvin did would have been Ryo's fault for squirming enough to accidentally rub against each other and almost burying his head into Melvin's crotch.

Melvin opted out of rape to masturbate in a public restroom, the latter not being a good idea but better than the former. He kept fantasizing with every swift stroke of his erection. Melvin never thought of it before, but for the first time he imagined himself plunging inside of Ryo, a pale leg over a bronze shoulder while the pale boy was tilted sideways, clawing at a tab back as they leaned their bodies near each other. What made the scene so different from any other sexual fantasy was the fact Melvin engaged in a deep, long, and needy_kiss_. Melvin initiated the kiss, and wanted more than anything than to merely feel the soft pink flesh against his skin in reality. In all his hormonal years, Melvin never thought a kiss mattered in sex because it was never as good as the actual fucking. Melvin never imagined any kiss, certainly not one in such details, and especially never initiated the action in the scene in his head.

Melvin imagined Ryo's lips on his needy member instead of his own hand. Melvin looked down and, crazily enough, remembered what it felt like to have Ryo stare up at him from a similar position. That briefest memory/fantasy brought Melvin finally over the edge as he shot his orgasm out like a powerful geyser along with a low and hitched moan.

Melvin panted and tried to level out his heartbeat before he tried to clean up the mess. Most of his fluids landed in the toilet, but some of the murky substance landed on his hands and on the seat. Gabbing a handful of the toilet paper, Melvin smeared off whatever he cared about from his hands and some off the seat. When it really came down to it, Melvin hand no care if another guy sat on his semen, or what was on his hands, but without at least a semblance of cleaning Marik would obviously yell his head off.

Once Marik heard a flush from behind he snapped back to reality. Since listening to Melvin masturbating was not appealing, and the blond could not leave his brother, Marik drifted into his thoughts to ignore his younger twin. Marik, too, thought of one of the white-haired males, but not the one Melvin clearly cared about. "His name was Bakura," Marik murmured to himself. That name had to be unique enough to find information.

"What are you talking about?" Melvin butted in, zipping up his pants after he walked out of the stall.

"The thief. His name is Bakura. I didn't catch the other one's name when he said it," Marik said with a casual shrug. "I do not need that one. It is not the one that matters."

Melvin snarled and slammed a fist near Marik's face, causing clear damage to the stall. "He does matter! Didn't you see him? He fucking begged for us to not hurt his _twin_. Doesn't that hit a little close to home?" he urged trying to imply the unspoken memory.

Melvin was not done with his rant and continued, "Of all the people I've ever messed up, they always begged for their OWN mercy. Puny wuss actually did something as girly as begging, but he …" Melvin stopped talking. Instead of a looking cocky or livid with a smirk or snarl, the Egyptian looked thoughtful with a even face. "I want to know his name. He matters. Both of them matter. They matter to each other. We can't turn in the bastard that robbed us. If we did that then we'd be the biggest hypocrites in the world."

Marik wanted to argue that just because one_seemed_ innocent did not constitute that the other was guiltless, but that would have been pointless. Melvin, maybe for the first time in his life, was right. Both had seen the earnest look in the pleading boy's eyes. Turning in Bakura would not fix anything. If nothing else would work, the tanned males could threaten the male by not turning him in to get their item back. Not turning in the twin would mean the two would stay together. Not turning in Bakura meant the other's happiness, which seemed to be what Melvin was after.

"Let us just go home for now. We can look them up on the school computers later. I think the library is closed by now, and I am tired. Wash your hands, though," the older commanded seeing a bit of the dried substance on Melvin's fingertips.

"Whatever. You bitch about everything." Melvin still did wash his hands, but he threw the paper towel he used to dry off on the floor. "Let's go."

[M*S]

"How many more bloody blocks are there?!" Bakura barked at his brother. Bakura leaned on his brother for support, but that did not mean he could actually make it to their home. Most often Bakura had enough tricks to win any fight with hardly any hits touching him, but the foreign males seemed to know his counter every attack.

Ryo sighed and shook his head. "You know that answer. I'm sure we can make it soon. We just need to keep walking." Even Ryo thought his pep talk sounded rather forced and dumb. Anything else would just be a lie or unrelated.

The boy desperately wished he and his brother could afford a singe car. The sidewalk cracked in several areas areas and jabbed upwards, making the walk far from smooth. Some blocks just had worn dirt and others had bad drivers that would practically aim for pedestrians. The cars that drove by the two walking males were no Lincolns or Mercedes Bends, but at least they weren't in the shabbiest part of their journey where one could not even trust if the rundown vehicles were even legally obtained. Walking, especially when beaten to a sore pulp, never really made Ryo happy. Part of the reason for wanting Bakura to work with him was to no have to be alone both to and fro the college; clearly that did not work out like he wanted.

The boys finally came into an intersection and pushed the button for the pedestrians to walk. Being about 5:30 or so, the boys unluckily hit rush hour. Ryo never chanced walking before the little white man made from light dots across the street signaled him to, and carrying Bakura made it even less wise. Ryo tested his patience waiting for the okay signal. Worse was that not only did they need to cross forward, but also go to the right. Ryo groaned at the thought of waiting twice for their turn to commute. The boy would wait forever to go!

"Let's just cross it. I don't see any cars just yet. We have time," Bakura suggested, making a small move forward.

"What?! No way. With how slow we are now, we would be run over!"

"Too bad. I'm doing it anyway."

Bakura did begin his trekking forward, and, ironically, the walker signal had just come on. The problem was that even though the signal came out, it hardly lasted more than eight seconds and Bakura and Ryo only made it to the middle of the freeway before the cars on the other side were allowed to drive.

Before either males even had time to blink, loud screeching noises pierced their eardrums. Bakura flinched his head away when he felt cool metal barely graze an arm, but he assumed that the driver just barely stopped in time. Bakura turned his gaze to see two motorcyclist halted near them. Only one set of fresh skid marks were made, so the rider slightly farther back must not have been so suddenly halted. The tires on sleek red motorcycle touching Bakura's arm seemed smoothed and smoking from a dangerous turn and halt. Both riders wore dark helmets, so neither twin saw their faces until they tossed the headgear aside. Bakura almost decked the rider right then, but the man stopped him.

"Stop! You need to be examined. You could have been hit harder than I saw. Let me take you to the hospital!" Marik commanded, gesturing to the cycle. Even if Marik instantly hated the man, he needed to find him regardless, and the wounds were caused by him.

"Like bloody hell! If you cared about my well being, you'd have not attacked me to begin with, then we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"It is not my fault! The light was green before I even got near it, so I had not bothered to look for you. If you are so upset you would let me make it up to you by taking you to a hospital!"

"You attack me and try to run me over, yet you think I'll trust you to take me to a hospital? You must be a complete and utter nutcase!" Bakura yelled. Many cars were honky at the males, but neither Marik nor Bakura cared or noticed.

Melvin finally stepped into the scene and grabbed Bakura by the shirt. "You stupid?! You can hardly walk and we're trying to be fucking nice! Get on the damn bike and stopping being such a whiny asshole!

"Sod off! I didn't ask for any help."

"Bakura, you need to calm down," Ryo said timidly to his brother. The male turned to the other males and bowed as best he could without his knees succumbing to gravity."We just can't. We can't afford a hospital visit. I'm sorry for the trouble, but we need to walk home now before another person really does run us over from annoyance." Bakura rolled his eyes when Ryo gave a small wave goodbye to the complete strangers.

Ryo held Bakura carefully and took small steps to get across the busy street before he felt arms wrap under his knees and back

"Wh-what?" Ryo gasped out when he looked into crazed purple eyes.

"Do not waste our time by arguing! We hardly ever act nice, so don't let that be in vain. Marik, you drive with the Bitchy Asshole," Melvin stated grabbing Bakura and setting him on Marik's bike.

"What?! Why should I drive this ungrateful jerk anywhere now?!" Marik protested.

"Because I want to take the actually cute one," Melvin retorted pushing Ryo in front of his sleek black bike's seat.

"But we can't-"

"Shut up, idiot. You ride with me. You two're too hurt to walk home so far. My apartment-" Melvin heard Marik cough, "-Marik's apartment is right down the street, not that your brother doesn't already know that." Melvin glared at the stranger on Marik's bike coldly when he finished.

Before Ryo or Bakura could hop off the motorcycles or protest more, Melvin and Marik started their engines and drove down the road to their apartment. Melvin sat behind Ryo so that the weakened boy would not fall and get hurt while Marik barely cared if Bakura even tried to hold on for the ride. Melvin leaned onto Ryo's shivering back, and felt his heart pace quicken. Marik made sharp turns just to loosen his passenger's grip on his hurt stomach. Clearly both Egyptians acted differently to their pale passengers, but thankfully Melvin had not lied when he said the ride would be short.

"Um … Am I supposed to feel my stomach in my mouth?" Ryo mumbled, wobbling off the bike without noticing Melvin steadying him with hands on his hips.

"Maybe the first time. If you feel that sick then it is a good thing you came. I can try to treat your wounds when we get inside," Marik replied thinking only of helping Ryo and forgetting about Bakura.

"You twits! Take us home!" Balura commanded holding his head like it would otherwise explode. "Why do these things have to be so bloody loud?!"

Melvin smirked and picked Ryo up bridal style. "You two are coming inside. You have no choice. We have things we need to discuss," Melvin spoke in such an eerily calm voice Marik almost thought he was someone else. No one disputed with the very deranged male out loud. Everyone headed to the fourth floor with Ryo actually being carried against his will.

* * *

It's funny because Melvin still doesn't know Ryo's name. Does anyone in canon YGO, though? XD Poor chap.

Legitimate comments and reviews are the bomdiggity! If you dot leave one you will get nothing! NOTHING! Dx

Also, if anyone is put off my Melvin's masturbating to fantasies of Ryo "at random" I'd like to defend myself and say that Ryo is adorable, and that Melvin is WEIRD. Screw getting to know someone before you screw them, right? ^.^;

**POP QUIZ/REWARD QUIZ:**  
I have sentences for you dear readers! The first one to pm me with the grammatically correct answer gets their own … something! You need to explain why it's right, too; otherwise, you have a 1/4 chance. Conditions is that I can't hate it like wanting whatever the pairing for Mokuba/Bakura is because... It would not even be good if I tried. Regardless, here are your choices:

_A)_ "Use this string of inviolable light and repair our wonderful world." the old woman instructed in her last feeble breaths.

_B)_ "I cannot carry out such a hard mission!" A boy retorted sadly.

_C)_ "You carry the light of the cosmos, my child," she stated with a gentle smile.

_D)_ "Then I will take the precious string for all the joys under the realm of the burning sun", the boy whimpered just before the elder shut her eyes for the last time.

(I wanted the sentences to tell a story. Unless a made a typo, only one is grammatically correct.) 


	4. UST

I'd apologize for the wait, but I think this chapter's awesomeness in itself makes up for the wait. … Okay, I'm sorry it took so long. Things happen. I gave you all a warning in chapter 3, though! I honestly thought I wouldn't update this until November anyway, so BE GRATEFUL!

Also, congrats on everyone that tried out for the last contest! Every person that sent in an answer was right (even though some people were right for DUMB reasons! DX). I have new long-term and short-term contests posted at the bottom of the chapter.

Important sidenote: DO NOT PICTURE ANIME MEN! I really enjoy realism, so when I say "Ryo's big eyes" I mean "eyes that are about the thickness of an average female thumb" or instead of imagining sharp jaws and spiky hair, picture strong jaws and softer features. Shoot, just think of a guy you think is hot, and put Melvin/Ryo/Bakura/Marik features on him. If anyone needs help understanding what I mean by realistic features, I should have a link to my deviant art with a few YGO pics on my profile.

* * *

**It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream.**** – Edgar Allan Poe**

Marik opened the door and gestured for the other three to get inside. Melvin carried Ryo in his arms to the couch and laid him down gently. Bakura just stormed in not sparing anyone a second glance. Marik wanted to smack the man, but restrained his temper. Marik already did a lot of harm to Bakura and they still had yet to actually talk about anything. Marik had to be tactful in how he would demand his ring back.

"Heh, you look cute beneath me," Melvin almost purred leaning closely over Ryo on the couch. "I'm so happy I didn't hurt this beautiful face of yours. Anywhere you want me to kiss better?" Melvin asked mischievously while a few bronze fingers glided across Ryo's collarbone. Melvin could tell by a few marks that it had been where the larger male held Ryo up, and Melvin visibly winced slightly from guilt. The last thing even a psycho like Melvin wanted was to hurt and deface someone as pure and clean as the boy beneath him.

"I-I really need to get up now. I suddenly feel completely f-fine!" Ryo stuttered never once looking up to make eye contact with Melvin. Their lips stayed so close to each other's, yet remained just ever-so too far. Ryo's heart pounded in anticipation, but his brain took control with it spoke, "Please … don't. . . ." he pleaded finally looking up with a hopeful and pleading expression. The second their eyes met again neither could look or walk away from the heated stare.

Melvin ignored the half-hearted plea, though he slightly respected Ryo for trying to stop what both knew needed to continue. The larger male leaned in so slowly, breath touching breath as their lips stayed millimeters apart with neither feeling uncomfortable giving into such a instinctual desire. Ryo kept in his place as Melvin still continued to get closer, not quite sure if he should meet those dark lips. Marik and Bakura decided for Ryo that a kiss simply was not going to happen.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Bakura commanded practically ripping Melvin off his brother by the collar of his shirt. Melvin prepared to strike back, but Marik held his fist back.

"Stop that, idiot! We brought them here to help their injuries, not make more!"

"Speak for yourself, Marik. I brought the cream-puff over to fuck him. I didn't see him complaining either." Melvin looked back at Ryo with a feral smirk and winked. His smirk only grew when Ryo's face blossomed a deep pink that the boy tried to hide with his long white hair.

"Like hell you will!" Marik and Bakura exclaimed in unison.

Bakura still itched to start an attack on Melvin, but Marik turned him around and bowed somewhat half-heartedly in an apologetic manner. "Ignore him. You took way too many hits to claim to be alright and start another fight." Marik shot Melvin a warning glare. "Well, for what are you waiting? Get the first aid kit."

Melvin grumbled something incoherent that sounded vaguely like "stupid, cockblocking brothers," but he still did as told. Of course, Melvin only did it because the sooner Marik thought the twins were fixed the sooner he would be able to have sex with Ryo without any protests about their physical health, not that Melvin even knew the boy's name yet. Well, it was more like Melvin did not remember it, even thought he definitely did not recall ever hearing it. Melvin just had an instinct; a vague memory, of a time when he could have said the boy's name so sacredly and frequently that it was its own language because even time the name was spoken, it held a meaning specific to that instant that could never be conveyed in other forms.

"Akefia?" Melvin asked with unconscious confusion and sadness aloud to no one in an inaudible mumble.

The other three males did not hear a thing while he went to fetch the first aid kit. Melvin had just went to one of the few cupboards in the kitchenette and pulled out a small blue box of various aiding items. Melvin had (never got rid of it, actually) an issue with fighting, and Marik thought it would be a wise investment of the little money they could spare. Melvin eventually became strong and wise enough to only pick battles he would easily win, but the blonds were grateful nonetheless to have the miscellaneous box at the moment.

Marik urged Bakura and Ryo to relax on the couch and try to rest their sore muscles. The blond wanted to offer water, but that probably would only make the others feel worse, since the sink's pipes had grown grimy and unsanitary to drink from. Running steady fingers through platinum, smooth locks, Marik sighed and figured he could still get the two guests some ice.

"What do I do with this now?" Melvin asked walking to the couch gesturing to the first aid kit.

Marik glared at his useless younger brother. "Just get the disinfectant out and start treating Bakura's cuts. I'll go get them an ice pack."

Melvin shrugged and poured some of the disinfectant on a small cotton ball. "Take the shirt off, Bitchy," Melvin ordered to Bakura.

"Fuck you. I can do whatever bloody I want, you nut job." Bakura snatched the swab from Melvin and began with a small cut on his arm. Probing around a few places, Bakura did not have too many big cuts, but he still felt the initial sting of the disinfectant seeping in. The white-haired delinquent smirked when he saw Melvin just shrug like the dark male had no idea what he would have done anyway. Caring for people were neither male's forte, but at least Bakura picked up a few tricks on how to take care of himself.

Ryo just stayed quiet and to himself, not wanting to get anyone's (specifically Melvin's) attention. Images of that almost-intimate moment played on repeat in the small male's head. Ryo's blush barely faded away when he thought of how much he still wanted that kiss. Would it have been rough and desperate? Passionate and lustful? Short and chaste? Or maybe, and possibly most likely, would the kiss have been something breathtaking and heartfelt? All the questions in his head hurt his brain enough to distract from the dull throbbing of his body. When Melvin had wanted to kiss Ryo better, he probably only made the poor boy worse because of his mind's fretting over nonsensical fantasies.

"Here you go," a sudden voice said interrupting Ryo's thoughts. "Put this wherever it is needed. I think your shoulders and neck are the only wounded areas, so just lay it there," Marik explained passing a bag of ice to Ryo.

Ryo nodded his head in a silent thank you and looked away, holding the ice on his left shoulder, sensing he probably sprained it. The snowy-haired male said little as he shut his eyes and relaxed. With breathing mellow and thoughts only causing him only mild distress, Ryo began to slip from consciousness and avoided listening to the others' senseless disputes.

"Don't I get one?" Bakura sneered trying to carefully handle a cut directly beneath his right eye. The cut stung more than the others, and the stubborn male barely even swiped the general area. Marik placed the ice bag on one of Bakura's swollen legs before be noticed the struggle and took a new cotton swap to Bakura's face.

"You will get something in your eye at that rate." Marik went on his knees and looked up at Bakura on the low couch. His arms extended out where one hand cupped the less damaged pale cheek and the other hand gently dabbed at the cut.

Bakura did not protest so much as melt in the foreign touch. Not even Ryo bothered to do something so intimate, and Bakura never would have let anyone touch him like such anyway. Marik, however, was so different. Marik did not help out of pity or worry like most people would, but rather helped knowing that things needed to be treated before they got worse. Warm, cinnamon-colored hands worked carefully not out of affection for the wounded, but out of need of attention to a wound.

"Make sure it stays clean. I do not think that it is going to scar. It bled a bit because it goes down your face, but it is pretty shallow," Marik stated flatly, not showing any real remorse about having caused several of the wounds on the man he tried to heal. Despite the fact he really did not really _sorry _about it, Marik felt he definitely could have handled the situation better and regretted the other being unnecessarily wounded. All the blond could do to make amends was make sure the injuries healed well. Marik, deep down for reasons unknown, did not want the sinful man before him so hurt.

Bakura closed his eyes while he trusted Marik to help. Rarely could someone like Bakura find comfort in another's touch, but despite the rough start earlier, he decided struggling would be foolish. Not to mention having specifically Marik helping him felt so _right_. The scene almost sent eerie déjà vu chills down his spine to the point that when Marik seemed to finish and pull his hands away, Bakura grabbed the wrists and held them in place.

Their eyes met in a faint understanding. Bakura's cut stopped bleeding and only made a slightly distinguishable mark on the alabaster skin, yet oddly enough the mark seemed to belong there. In a short instance, images of something not quite real, not quite unrealistic, flashed before each other's eyes. Instead of dark maroon orbs connecting with soft lavender, crystal amethyst met rich honey. Marik gazed at Bakura in shock while he stared at a tanned man with rich, purple eyes darker than his own and a unique scar down his right eye. Bakura made out a man with proud, hazel eyes and chestnut hair that contrasted barely from his bronze skin.

[M*S]

_"Have I told you that you are a fool yet?" a man with ashen lavender hair and bronze skin asked between winces of pain._

_"Maybe the first or second time something like this happened. One would think you would stop wasting your breath," a smaller man replied trying to hold back the amusement in his voice. His nimble fingers grazed over the other's face with care and firmness as he tried to tend to a deep cut on the man's face._

_"Don't sound so damn smug about this! You owe me your life!" the first man shouted angrily. The words were said out of anger and instinct, but when he thought of them more, a Cheshire grin formed on his face. The smile along with the smeared blood from the cut gave the man quite a deranged appearance, not to say he was not deranged anyway. "I think you should pay me back your life by being my personal sex slave."_

_The smaller male rolled his gold colored eyes with a shaking of his head. "Stop making that horrible face. You look freaky." The man took some water and wiped away the last of the blood on the other's face at last. "I think that this is going to scar," he commented with hopes that the guilt in his voice was not too obvious._

_"Doesn't matter if it scars or not. I'd prefer it, actually." The larger man hesitantly reached out and cupped the smaller man's youthful and handsome face. "I want you to see every day that I would go through anything for you," he mumbled leaning in to kiss the honey-eyed male's forehead._

_"Oh, please," the smaller said with a knowing smile. "You just think it makes you look more intimidating."_

_The scarred man did not laugh, but his proud smirk told the other that he was right. The man kissed his companion again, but instead on the lips. When the man pulled away he was pleasantly surprised by the mixed expression of lust and reduced pride from the other. "You're a sex slave worth every ounce of pain for the pleasure."_

_That comment obviously earned the larger man a punch on the arm, but he barely felt it along with his other wounds. The man chuckled before wrapping his arms around the smaller and nesting his face into a shoulder with smooth brown locks tickling his nose from the other male. If the man felt even slightly better, he would not stop for a moment to make love with the man that just caused and treated his wounds. Of course he was more than just a sex slave, but that did not mean the larger man did not thoroughly enjoy their passionate rompings._

_"I really hate you, you know," the one with honey eyes commented casually as he let the other bury his wounded face into his hair and shoulders._

_The lavender-haired man smirked even though the other could not see it. "I can't express that sentiment more strongly back to you."_

_"Yes, yes. I may just hate that I cannot actually find it in my heart to hate you."_

_"I hate the fact I could not let you die a dog's death the first time we met."_

_"I hate always needing to be with you."_

_"I hate that you always seem to hold me down when you're with me."_

_"I hate the fact you never seem to stop me from following you."_

_"I hate the fact you're so hard to turn away."_

_"I hate thinking if you left me for good that I would die from the pain in here," the smaller said taking the other's hand and gesturing to his heart with it._

_"I hate knowing that you are my only reason to come back no matter what," the larger mumbled taking the smaller's hand and placing it on his cut cheek._

_"I hate loving you so much, Akefia," he said leaning in closely so that their foreheads touched, lips millimeters apart._

_"I hate loving me so much, too, Namu," Akefia murmured with a smirk before he connected their lips in what should have been just a routine occurrence, but meant so, so much more to each male._

[M*S]

Neither Marik nor Bakura said anything of their visions and thought of the images they saw as merely tricks of the mind, neither knowing the other saw the same scene. Marik made motion to pull his hands away from Bakura's face when the bony fingers subconsciously loosened their grip. The Egyptian stood up and patted off some dirt on his pants before flashing Bakura a haughty look. Bakura returned the look through his own snide grin. Neither one understood what they had just seen, nor even that the other saw he same thing, so each pretended nothing happened and acted as they would have regardless. Melvin did no even notice anything happened at all, and just watched to see what entertaining interaction the other two males would have.

"Something you need to say, princess?" asked Bakura in feigned innocent.

Marik brushed off the remark with a cracking of his fist before responding. "Yes, I would like to tell you to return the item you stole from my brother and me. We helped patch you up, so give it back!"

"What?!" Bakura exclaimed in fury. His eyes tried to look innocent, but Bakura knew there was a moment of hesitation where his guilt slipped through, and he hoped the blind was too stupid to catch it. "I told you I don't have anything from you bloody gits! I thought you let that damn accusation go, or at least until you actually had something more substantial than just claiming it was me."

"No, I took you in to talk about getting my item back in exchange for help." Marik's eyes no longer looked confused as they had after that vision, so the fierceness of gaze pierced into Bakura when they stared at each other once more.

"You can't expect someone to want to do something for you after you half-assedly help them with wounds you caused!"

"So what? Do you want me to do something whole-assedly?" Marik spat our with venom. "If that's the case, I can go back an finish maiming you!"

Bakura growled and lifted himself slightly from the couch to lunge at Marik, until he felt something heavy fall on his shoulder. When Bakura turned in fuming head to look he saw Ryo's sleeping body leaning on him. Bakura shoved Ryo off to the other side of the couch, and the sleeping male barely stirred. Bakura questioned how his weak brother could sleep so heavily, especially at a moment like that.

Melvin glared at Bakura from beside Ryo and lifted the boy into his arms again. "Only I get to mess with this body," he warned. "I'm taking him to the bedroom to sleep. Have fun with your unresolved sexual tension, Marik," the crazed brother commented as he headed to Marik's bedroom.

Marik wanted to hurt everyone in the room deeply, but he figured Ryo was innocent enough to not feel his fury, and the blond kept calm enough. "Just keep the damn door open, psycho," ordered Marik, entirely untrusting of what Melvin would do to the unconscious boy.

Bakura seemed to hold in his complaints well enough. The brother knew waking Ryo would be a nightmare, if not just impossible, and decided that if he were to sleep then Ryo should do it comfortably. If Ryo had a stuff neck or woke up after an unsatisfying nap, the normally civil and sweet boy was gone and usually became whiny and snappy; Bakura did not want to walk home with that.

"If your brother lays one finger on my unsuspecting brother. . . ." Bakura warned, letting Marik finish the unspoken threat in his mind.

"Oh, please. Do not think you can intimidate us, thief. Not when I can just poke your sides to make you wince in pain." To prove his point Marik jabbed at Bakura's unguarded side a bit below the armpit. Sure enough, the white-haired male's eyes flickered a bit in pain. Bakura would never let that hold him back in a fight consciously, but knowing they he was wounded, the thief had to admit Marik was right that the blond could take him down.

"I really hate you, you know," Bakura gasped out angrily.

"I cannot express that sentiment more strongly back to you."

Both males paused visibly at how familiar the words were, if not maybe slightly reversed. Clearly the words were reversed because everything just felt wrong yet right. Everything seemed like it was moving so unexpectedly, but like it was all according to some big plan. The words were just a piece of the males' confusion. The vision was only a momentary flash over their eyes. Fiction. Fake. Meaningless. Each thought the other would not understand the short moment of weakness and snapped out of their confused haze before the other misinterpreted the silence.

Bakura and Marik looked at each other again.

Honey met Amethyst.

[M*S]

Melvin almost felt disgusted with himself for carrying and putting Ryo down so gently on the bed. Melvin even let the small boy cling and nuzzle into his neck when he tried to let to. Melvin could not care less about Ryo and his comfort so long as he got to claim that pale, perk ass, yet there he was, on the bed being cuddled by a cream-puff. A little part the disgust, Melvin did not actually mind.

Ryo turned his head away and frowned, a roll of sweat falling from his forehead. The boy looked uneasy, to say the least. Melvin wondered what the other could be dreaming about, especially when he saw a small tear leak from his closed eyes. Melvin wanted to hurt something, a feeling he knew well, but another, foreign, feeling accompanied it that furthered his desire to want to specifically want to hurt what made Ryo so sad.

"Namu," Ryo mumbled, letting go of Melvin and reaching for the air. "You can't. . . ."

The foreign feelings intensified. Melvin's gut lurched, and he almost wanted to puke from the weird churning in his stomach. The crazed Egyptian long ago mastered the ad of making others feel uneasy and scared, but never had someone given him the opposite effect. Despite the fact most of what Ryo said was mere dream-gibberish, Melvin knew it all somehow referred to him. Melvin somehow made Ryo cry. The thought should bring the male pleasure as it would seeing the tears of nearly anyone else, but not from Ryo. What Melvin wanted Ryo were not tears of sadness and pain, but tears of ecstasy and pleasure.

Fingers unsteady and rough, Melvin smeared away the tears and kissed Ryo's eyelids, still not quite gently, but more sweetly than he thought capable. Ryo relaxed exponentially with each kiss, and Melvin freed himself. Getting off the bed, Melvin turned away ready to leave until a small hand caught one of the puffy pockets of his cargo pants. When the easily annoyed blond turned around, any anger soon dissipated from Ryo's drowsy, half-lidded, sweet, chocolate orbs.

"There are other places," Ryo mumbled breathlessly.

Melvin stood confused before turning his face away quickly and replying back an indifferent "What?"

"Places. You said that … you would … kiss me better. Re-remember?" Ryo asked, fluttering his eyelids to flash his hopeful eyes temporarily under pale lids. "I want you to make the pain go away."

Melvin still faced from the other, but smirked widely and mischievously. "You're going to have to be way more specific, cream-puff." Melvin turned and put a leg on either side of Ryo's. The blond leaned down, so close to the other's face, yet too far.

Ryo's face beamed with a smile as he took a lithe finger and traced it from his lips down to his heart. "All these places. It hurts so much. I don't understand. I don't know you. I don't. I just. . . ." Ryo did not know what he knew. All that Melvin could understand was that Ryo wanted kisses, so the lusting Egyptian gave just that.

Melvin started on a particularly noticeable bruise on Ryo's collarbone before working his way up his neck. Melvin licked and nipped at the pale neck happily as he felt Ryo's body writhe and rub against his own, but he wished he could see Ryo's face. Trailing up to Ryo's jaw, Melvin paused and took one long, meaningful glance at the other before leaning down to connect their lips.

Ryo open his mouth before Melvin even considered furthering their lip-lock, but did not waste the opportunity and their tongues danced a passionate salsa. When they parted, Ryo's cheeks flushed to a soft peach-pink color from lack of air. With all that had happened, Ryo's mind was far too hazy to blush from sheer embarrassment the snowy-haired male would definitely feel later.

"You … are really good at that," Ryo commented with a deeper blush. Their eyes met once more before Ryo tugged Melvin down for an endearing embrace. Melvin obviously did not hold the other back, but he did not shove him away either. Melvin was stuck in emotional limbo where he did not know exactly how to handle all his new feelings.

"I thought you needed me to kiss other places, too?" Melvin asked nonchalantly as Ryo held him closer.

"If you kissed it I … I think it would explode. It's in no state for something as … heart pounding as that." The answer seemed to suffice Melvin's curiosity about that enough, but that did not mean Melvin did not still want to rip off the smaller male's clothes and touch him more.

"You're really unusual. Most people would be scared to even think about touching me or having me touch them." Melvin's pride actually wept thinking someone besides his stupid brother did not fear him. Why a strange little pansy of a man could openly yearn for him made no sense. Why Melvin let the somewhat willing body do as he pleased while all the dark man wanted to do was fuck like rabbits in spring made no sense. Why Melvin kissed away damn _tears_made no sense. The general idea that Melvin wanted Ryo in every possible way despite the man having no boobs or vagina made no sense.

Nothing about anything made sense.

Smiling, which confused Melvin even more, Ryo only stated a simple, "I love to be scared" sweetly into Melvin's ear.

Finally snapping and needing at least some closure about who the other boy was, Melvin finally asked, "What's your name?"

* * *

Only I can make a love affair go on this long with the lovers still not knowing each other's name. Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter when Ryo reveals his secret identity: LIMEYMAN!

Kidding, kidding. I just like the fact that I could sneak some Citron in here. Citron shipping is like my favorite, and those scenes will play a big part in the story.

Writing Deathshipping is hard. Melvin just isn't crazy enough! DX I'm trying, guys. I really am. **You should review**, so that I'm happy and feel like trying more. Otherwise, slow updates for you (if any at all) because school is a B****! October 31st I have a huge essay that basically decides whether or not I get my diploma due, not to mention other rigorous classes. Seriously, a guy on my bus had the nerve to say, "Man, I have 3 AP classes this year! My life's gonna suck!" around me. ME! A measly THREE AP classes is CHILD'S PLAY for IB kids!

Also, I have a new challenge for anyone willing to participate. The goal is to actually **write ME a story**. The theme is "_make me feel emotion"_. Bring me to tears, laughter, anger, whatever. Just make me like it so much I feel something other than indifference all the time. GOOD LUCK, FRIENDS! The contest ends May 1st, or so I believe. Winner gets a one-shot or whatever they want. If you wondering why the time limit is so long, it's because I and other people are likely busy. I want the best someone can offer because I'm sick of reading bull all the time. Of all the hundreds of fanfics I've read, only like 15 are actually favorited. Please make me something wonderful! I'll try to return the favor! I'll put more guidelines on my profile next weekend.

The _short-term contest_ is to guess the font I use to type. The hint is that I only ever type my stories from my phone; there are only three font options for iphone's notepad. Take a guess via PM or in a review (but you can't just make an answer your review because then I get annoyed like no one's business.)

The one-shot I wrote for the previous winner is up and I hope you all go check that out, too.


	5. Trust

Just to clarify an extra something about the ages, Ryo and Bakura are both 19 with Ryo being the older twin while Marik and Melvin are both 18 with Melvin being the younger.

Also, I'm so disappointed with the lack of Zorc/Seto in this fandom! I mean, it's basically canon. One has a dragon penis, the other has a dragon fetish; it is perfect logic!

* * *

**History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again. - Maya Angelou**

Ryo's breath hitched in his throat. His name? Why, the usually shy male had completely forgotten his own name. Who was he to be kissing a stranger so passionately- so desperately? Clearly that other person had not been Ryo Bakura: a shy boy with long snowy hair, innocent brown eyes, pale skin, a meek demeanor, a soft voice, but most importantly, no lustful desires. The person sucking face with another man so deeply had been someone much more bold, strong, sensual, and completely out of his mind. Oddly enough, Ryo still felt like those traits were still him deep down just … not at the same time.

"Well?" Melvin growled impatiently. "A name, do you have one?"

Ryo could not quite muster up the words, but he managed a small nod, reverting to his timid self. His eyes closed as he took a deep breath and thought about the question for another moment. Ryo just could not think and look into Melvin's expectant eyes. When the smaller male gazed into the stranger's agonizingly familiar eyes, the typical answer to the question died on his lips. Like there was something else he needed to say.

Melvin growled again, and Ryo took the hint. "I-it's Ryo. Ryo Bakura," he finally answered. "Who are you?"

That question.* That question was infinitely more complicated to answer than simply "what is you name." What would Melvin say to "Who are you?" Was Melvin simply a name, mere syllables he never even chose for himself that others would have to identify him as? Was Melvin the "child of … " or a description of his appearance? Clearly not his appearance, since he and Marik did look very similar. Regardless, Melvin could not sum up who he was, at least not as he had been before he met Ryo.

Ryo waited much more patiently than Melvin had as he pondered for his answer. Finally their eyes met, and Melvin smirked assuredly.

"I'm your lover."

[M*S]

"I think you should go now," Marik told Bakura. "You and I clearly are not seeing eye to eye, so I do not think anything good will come by your staying here."

Bakura scoffed and turned away. "I'd be happy to go. Meeting you has been nothing but a pain." Bakura was not lying, but something in him felt an unexpected type of pain, almost a longing. Both males felt it every time their eyes met, but neither acted on it. Bakura wanted to leave and never return since the first time he had seen the other when he had stolen the ring, but apparently the gods thought it would be funny to push the two back together.

Marik rolled his eyes as though he did not believe that he should be the one called a "pain," but he said nothing about it. Arguing with the pale thief grew tiresome quickly. "Wake your brother and be on your way. Do not think I will forget about my property, thief."

Bakura uneasily stood up and ignored Marik's claim. The thief knew he should have just yelled for Ryo to save himself his energy, but if his brother was sleeping Bakura had no chance to wake to other with voice alone. Bakura walked to the room with the opened door, and stood shocked at the sight that greeted him.

The shock only lasted a moment before Bakura rushed inside. Marik saw Bakura's reaction and rushed to the scene, catching a glimpse of what Bakura had seen before the two would ruin what was happening between their brothers. Neither Marik nor Bakura expected their brothers to be sucking face with each other; Ryo was on top with one arm around Melvin's neck and another going up his shirt, and Melvin was smirking into the kiss with one hand holding Ryo up by his butt and the other hand slipped in past his jeans. Bakura pulled Ryo off the large Egyptian violently, and Marik slapped Melvin hard across his head.

"What were you doing?!" both Marik and Bakura exclaimed when the two were successfully separated.

Ryo blushed a beet color and freed himself from his brother's grip. "I-I was just … !"

"He was making out with his new lover, and I am trying to get laid," Melvin spat with a spiteful glare at the interrupting siblings. "Care to let us finish?"

"No! You're never getting near us again, bloody wanker! Come on, Ryo. We're leaving." Bakura grabbed Ryo by the wrist and would have dragged Ryo out the door if the shy brother had not began to walk for himself. Ryo had been so dazed by the sudden events, regaining control of his legs took a moment, but he matched Bakura's pace timidly.

Bakura thrust open the door and saw the slight drops of rain failing over the parking lot. The younger twin shook with anger. Of all the things that had to pile up, the gods could not even be creative enough to do something other than rain. Worse was that he rain barely came across as a light drizzle, but in the boys' condition, walking would be that much harder and eventually the drizzle would soak them as any shower would. No one could guarantee that the rain would not pick up along the way, either. Black clouds spread across the horizon from past the college to past the direction of their home. Bakura could vaguely see traces of lightening to the distance that would surely catch up with them along their path.

"Well, hurry up. We aren't staying here," Bakura barked, taking the first step outside the apartment.

"What?! No way, Kura. We can't when things are like this!" Ryo pleaded.

"Would you rather stay here with these wankers?!" Bakura sneered. "I bet you'd want to stay with at least one of them, little slut. Does the thought of fucking while there's a nice view of pouring rain outside turn you on?"

Ryo was hurt. Bakura was not Bakura unless he made snide and crude comments, but rarely had he ever tried to genuinely hurt and belittle Ryo. The insult shot right through the kind brother. Ryo shook his head and refused to even look at his brother as he turned away. "Better him than you. Go if you want," Ryo said so monotonously it was cold.

Bakura scoffed and slammed the door behind him, not saying another word.

Marik and Melvin watched the scene unfold quietly and to themselves. Melvin was the first to make his presence known the the wounded male by lifting up his chin and giving the other a pressing kiss. Ryo did not respond like he had before, but he did not push Melvin away either. The snowy-haired male just reached out and grabbed Melvin's hand as a small moral support.

Melvin noticed the lack of response and stopped the kiss. "So you're just going to stay and not even put out now?" he asked in an annoyed sigh. Melvin had not completely meant to sound as if he only wanted sex, but the fact that Ryo barely responded bothered Melvin on a deeper level than he could not actually verbalized. The question had been as close as Melvin could get to asking the other if he were alright.

Ryo looked at the other in pain, his throat catching his voice. "I-I would never 'put out' so easily! I just wanted to … Never mind. I'll j-just g-go now." Ryo rushed to leave, but barely got the door open before someone's strong grip latched onto his wrist.

"You must be joking. It is pouring outside now. You cannot go out yet." Marik stressed his point by pointing to the large trees being pushed back by the winds. "You really cannot risk walking in that. Your brother should come back, too. Melvin, go get that bastard. He could not have gone far," the smaller Egyptian ordered.

"What?! Why should I go? I don't want him here!"

"Yes, but I doubt that idiot would listen to me any more than you, and you have not exactly made our guest feel welcomed, so you are getting him. He probably is barely at the parking lot."

"Fine. Not like I have any reason to stay inside anyway. Little asshole better not be far away," Melvin grumbled as he left.

Ryo looked at Marik with sad and confused eyes before looking away. Ryo's heart lightened at the thought of someone caring, but Marik was not the one he wanted to care. Marik was close enough, he supposed. "Why would you care if we walked out there? You don't seem like the type that would mind. Besides, it's only a bit of water"

"Water that could get you sick and hurt. Do not be stubborn. Just relax, and we can talk. Even if Melvin finds Bakura quickly, I bet those two are going to argue a good while before they manage coming back. I have been meaning to talk to you, too. I do not even know your name."

"It's Ryo," the pale one answered quickly. "I guess you could call me a slut, too."

"I do not think I could call you that at all. If you were easy, you would have tried to get into my pants by now," Marik winked as he replied.

"I would never!"

"Then stop thinking about it. My brother just pulled you into a situation like that. I doubt you were very in-tuned to your surroundings when you were doing … all that. I am Marik Ishtar, by the way. I am the better twin." Marik lifted the atmosphere considerably with his obvious teasing, and Ryo felt more relieved than annoyed.

Ryo smiled. "Nice to meet you, Marik. You're very different than your brother," Ryo commented not sure what else to say.

"Not as shockingly different as you to Bakura. That man … Is it rude to want to punch him?"

Ryo could not help but roll his eyes at the question. He shook his head and lightheartedly replied, "Not when he deserves it; in other words, go right ahead."

Marik chuckled a bit and nodded. "I shall keep that in mind. You two really are polar opposites. Would you like something to drink or eat?"

"Tea. Any kind you might have will do."

Neither said much else. Marik started to boil some packs of tea he had gotten awhile back while the two waited for their brothers to return. A bang of thunder resounded, but Marik did not worry much. Melvin was made of bricks, and Bakura seemed like someone too stubborn to let the rain keep him down. Marik worried what would happen if Melvin and Bakura started to fight, but the blond doubted they would go too far. Ryo merely sat on the sofa waiting, staring at the door with gloomy eyes.

"You really do not seem like a slut, Ryo," Marik commented seeming out of the blue.

"Uh … what?" Ryo had been in a daze and took a moment to realize what the other said. "I … yeah. Your brother's … a, um, really good kisser. I-I don't even remember getting into that position. We just moved so fast, and I really wanted it, and he really wanted it, and it felt so right, and I can't understand why I let it get so far, yet I can't say I would do it differently if I could. I really never did anything even close to that before. Melvin just … captivated me. I felt like someone that wasn't me took control, and I had no desire to try and regain myself. Do you know what I mean?" Ryo asked hopefully, staring right at Marik with earnest eyes.

"… I may know, but not in the same manner as you."

"Oh, really? At least if you know what I mean I won't feel so crazy."

"No, you are certainly crazy. The only time I know of where a woman willingly let Melvin have his way with her is a bit of time ago, and even then it was with a prostitute."

Ryo's eyes widened at the thought of someone doing such a dirty act, but he refrained from judging the other. Ryo could hardly criticize someone that made him question his own identity. Ryo never _longed_ to be with others except for the few like Bakura, but even his own brother had become more of a need of consistency than longing for his sibling's company in itself. In the most shocking of ways, Melvin slipped past Ryo's façade of happy emotions and got right to the pure and raw state of the teenager. Due to his shy nature Ryo really had always restricted himself with whom he interacted, but Melvin called out a feisty spirit in the timid male. Ryo had so many more emotions in him than he had ever noticed before, and the idea of someone bringing them out thrilled him.

Marik sighed and checked the tea, trying to think of something else to say. "I think he fell in lust at first sight with you. If you never did something like that before, it was probably just a lot of hormones coming out at once. You should not do it again, though. Melvin is nothing less than a delinquent and a psychopath." Marik excluded the fact that even for being crazy, his brother never thought of other men as anything more than punching bags. Even women scarcely phased his interest sexually unless he felt particularly kinky and cruel. Melvin's actions were hard to understand, so Marik saved Ryo the annoyance of trying to figure him out.

Marik noticed Ryo quiet after his comment, but neither one bothered to speak more. The silence was not awkward or spiteful, so both just relaxed and waited until the sound and wailing steam escaped the teapot. Ryo motioned to take care of the tea, but Marik prevented him and poured the hot drink in two mismatched cups.

"I hope that it will not taste as cheap as it is," Marik commented blowing on his a little to cool it down before taking a sip.

"Oh, I'm sure it's fine. The fact you went out of your way to make it at all means a lot to me, Marik. Thanks for being so kind." Ryo took a small sip of the hot beverage and realized he spoke far too soon. The tea tasted like the cardboard container it came from and even smelled just he same. Though Ryo said nothing negative, the expression of pure pain on his face as he drank told Marik all he needed to know.

"You do not have to drink it. It really is that bad. You can pour it down the sink for all I care. This is mostly just to pass the time until our brothers return anyway," Marik explained taking his own advice and letting the horrible tea slide down the drain.

Ryo smiled gratefully and eagerly rid of the tea. "Do you think they will soon retur-"

The sound of soft knocks cut Ryo off by the surprise.

"I guess they are here." Marik went to open the door and stopped breathing for a moment when he saw the two brothers, but more importantly the two hooded figures that held their unconscious bodies.

"Wh-who are you?!" Ryo stuttered in fear as he stood near Marik.

Ryo could make out an expression of confusion beneath the large hooded person, likely not expecting Ryo to speak. The person handed Melvin to Marik and Bakura to Ryo. Ryo barely managed to carry his brother, and wondered how the large man had managed carry both him and Melvin. The stranger scared Ryo near witless, and he could only stand waiting for whatever to happen.

"Hello, brother. I do not think it takes a soothsayer to tell that it is raining and that we would like to come inside," the woman said very calmly. She removed her mysterious beige hooded cloak and veil and held it in her hands. Her hair was a beautiful black color that flowed past her back despite being slightly wet from the rain. Her skin was the same smooth mocha as Marik, but her eyes were hardened blue instead of soft violet.

Marik grumbled something under his breath, but stepped away from the door, dropping Melvin to the floor. Ryo followed lead and let the two intimidating strangers inside and walked to the sofa to drop his brother.

"You should not come unannounced, Ishizu. Not everyone has the ability to predict everything." Marik looked at the woman like he was annoyed, but his eyes were overall rather soft.

"I sensed something was to happen. I worry about you, brother," Ishizu defended still very calmly.

"Nothing was going to happen. You just do not think I can handle myself! You even brought Odion here!"

"Odion is family, Marik. He and I should be allowed to see you without reason."

"Yeah, but you two are never without reason! You always think something bad is going to happen to me, and you suddenly show up when I never need it. I had things completely okay! You do not have t-!" Marik was cut off when Ryo grabbed his hand firmly and pulled Marik to face him.

"You should never treat family like that, Marik. Instead of yelling at them, shouldn't we be trying to find something dry for them to wear?" Ryo pointed to Melvin and Bakura whose wet clothes seeped onto the floor and couch. "If your family didn't come by, who knows what our brothers would be doing. We should thank them."

Marik wanted to argue, but Ryo did have a point, and the moment Marik really looked at Ryo he knew the snowy-haired male won. The blond turned to Ishizu and Odion and smiled warily. "Thank you for taking care of those two fools. How did you know they would wind up in trouble?" Marik asked debating whether or not his sister had a psychic dream, strong intuition, or saw it in tea leaves or some other weird message. When Ishizu's face became even more serious, Marik knew he was missing something.

"You misunderstand my being here, Marik. Finding Melvin and Bakura- I know his name from when Melvin shouted it- fighting was merely a coincidence. I am here because I saw a terrible past rather than a terrible future."

"Since when could you go back to see things?"

"I do not think it has to do with seeing the past so much as using the past as a means to stop an unforeseeable future," Ishizu cryptically explained.

"What Ishizu is trying to say," the large man, Odion, cut in politely said, "is that we came to make sure things from the past do not repeat." Odion had not spoken before and stayed relatively far from the rest of the group, but his powerful yellow-green eyes told the others that he was just as involved as anyone else. Odion completely removed his long hooded cloak and put it on one of the old coat hooks by the door.

Ryo gasped when he saw the intricate scars over half the large man's face. Ryo knew it was rude to stare, but he just could not turn his gaze away. Odion noticed easily, and Ryo looked down in shame.

"You do not have to turn away. The fact that you cannot bear to look at Odion's scars proves that our coming here is justified," Ishizu spoke before Odion. "Young man, I would like you and your brother to leave my brothers alone. Understand that nothing good has come from your meeting and nothing will. Our family has even more scars that you clearly cannot handle, so it would be best if you two never return the moment the rain ceases."

"The hell…?" Bakura mumbled out in a daze. "You can't tell us to leave and stay. You'd have to be as dumb as these wankers to think I'd back off just because you asked nicely," he growled once he gained more consciousness. "You can bet I won't be coming back, but that's because one is batshit crazy and the other is a little bitch."

"Bakura!" Ryo yelled in a scolding tone. "She is only looking out for her brothers. You know it's true that we haven't exactly been good to Marik and Melvin. Why are you instantly cruel to everyone? Marik and Melvin really aren't bad, and Miss Ishizu and Odion haven't done anything wrong."

Bakura scoffed and glared at his brother. "Don't act so authoritative with me, Ryo. You're rude, too. If they are so great, why do you look like you're about to wet yourself in fear?"

Ryo had nothing to say back. Marik wanted to hurt Bakura for insulting his family and Ryo, but he could not bring himself to look at the other male. Marik just wanted the day to end and for everyone to leave. Pretty much everyone felt either annoyed or uncomfortable, the only exception being the unconscious Melvin.

"We are not the ones to fear," Ishizu stated wisely. "The only harbinger of misfortune and chaos is you, Bakura. I ask you again to leave my brothers alone."

"I never wanted to stay. The quicker you all are out of my hair the better." Bakura stood up in fury to leave, but fell on a knee almost immediately from an injury in the earlier fight with Melvin. "Damn it!"

"Bakura!" Ryo yelled out with concern instead of contempt. "Get back on the couch." Ryo tried to help his brother, but Bakura shoved him away.

Bakura winced in pain as he stood again to fall on the sofa. "I bloody hate you all."

"Not that anyone likes you at all either," Marik added in bitterly.

"Marik, you cannot let your anger best you. You do not know what could happen if you interact so negatively with him." Ishizu's voice was firm, but her eyes were wavering in fear. She had not told anyone the exactness of her prediction (she hardly saw anything clearly, so her prediction came from wise intuition), and she hoped that her worries would be futile because nothing bad would happen at all.

"Ishizu," Odion said clearly in the tensing air. "You cannot tell him what he can and cannot do. Marik believes he can handle himself, and we can only try to explain why he is wrong."

Ishizu looked at Odion with stubborn eyes until she relented with a heavy sigh. "Bring the necklace to me, Marik. I wish to show you something."

"Show him something? Don't I get to see it if it involves me? What about Ryo?" Bakura cut in impatiently.

"Please, Miss Ishizu. What could we possibly do that has you so frightened?" Ryo asked in earnest curiosity and confusion.

"Not even I can make out the vision. I see the future, never the past. Somehow you all are linked in a timeless past, and it seems to effect the future only for the worse. I saw scattered blood, and fiery sands, and screaming faces. The rest is a blur without any distinct features to any face or building." Ishizu's hands clutched at her chest as she tried to think of anything more. "The Torc, Marik."

Marik sighed but went to get what his sister demanded. He had not told her that the Ring was stolen, but a least he had the necklace she wanted. Marik took only about a minute to retrieve the sacred relic and he gave it to his sister.

Everyone waited patiently - even Bakura - as Ishizu donned on the mystic item. The shape and smooth gold seemed natural on her slender neck like it was simply destined for her to wear. Her deep blue eyes shut as her hand slid to the whether centered the entire item. The item shined around the eye, but stopped when she removed her hand.

With her knowing eyes, Ishizu turned to Bakura and Marik. The two males instantly lost themselves in a sea of ageless wisdom that neither could tell if Ishizu actually embodied or merely hosted. Either way, Bakura and Marik experienced something that went beyond anger and hatred, but maybe not excluding thereof.

[M*S]

_Night fell over the cool Egyptian desert, but sadly silence did not accompany it. Deep within rich, golden palace walls bickering and yelling resonated._

_"You can't! You can't, you can't, you can't!" a young boy of about 14 yelled. His honey eyes teared in frustration and sadness._

_"I will do as I must, Namu. This is an immeasurable honor, and you will do well to be proud of me. Just think, Namu, we will no longer have to live on the streets scraping for food," a calm but pleading voice responded from a young woman of about 18._

_"Don't you think that I would _prefer_ the streets?! What about my freedom, Isis? We aren't meant for royal life and spoils. The reason these people are so rich is because they take most of it from the hard working peasants like us!"_

_"Namu, that is absurd! The palace guards help all the people and protect these great lands. I have been chosen as a guardian of our great pharaoh and people. How is it that you cannot accept this wonderful rise in our class? No one belongs of the streets, brother. Be happy you can be fed and merry as you like in safe palace walls. We know hard times more than anyone else here, so is it not reasonable for us to stay to help guide the great rulers understand common hardships?"_

_"Isis … why can't you see that this isn't meant for me? I don't want to live here. You'll always be busy with your supposedly sacred duties, and I'll be left as the riffraff brother. What about all my old companions and friends?" Namu never told his sister about his main friend, but the mere thought of his friend no longer with him sent pangs of pain in his chest. For all his sister's wisdom, Namu could not comprehend why she forced him into such a undesired life._

_"You mean the thief boy?" Isis asked coldly already knowing the answer. Namu's shocked expression only confirmed her suspicions. "That boy is nothing good. He is the scum that the noble priests detect evil in he is a vessel for misgivings and cruelties. A thief is no friend of yours, Namu. The fact you insist on leaving the goodness of these fine walls proves that you should not be allowed back into the common public."_

_"Isis, you can't make those decisions for me! You don't know him. He's more than a thief. He's my friends, and I need him. I need my freedom. I need to work for my earnings. I need to feel the sun on my skin. I need to be like him, open and real. Isis, I-I. …" Namu could not bring himself to finish. How would he finish? With an "I love him"? Namu could not express such an emotion in words; he was too young to even fully comprehend the notions of the expression. Sure, the young Egyptian could understand that he loved his sister, but that feeling paled to what he felt for his friend. Namu could never learn what all the minor differences between love, respect, affection, adoration, and the like really were if he would only ever be shunned by an entire palace of people._

_"You are open and real, brother. You more so than anyone else I have ever known. That thief is beneath you; he is sly and untrustworthy. Please, do not let yourself be fooled." Isis deeply loved her brother and wanted the best for him, so she could not see where his stubbornness came from. Isis' intuition never failed her, and it told her that she was doing the right thing by making him stay._

_Isis wrapped her arms around her brother and pulled him into an endearing embrace. Namu did not pull away, but he hardly made an effort to return the sentiment. His honey eyes closed to hide his sadness, and he turned away when he felt the hug went on long enough._

_"I feel fatigued, my sister. I will return to my chambers to rest now. Goodnight," Namu said behind him as he walked away._

_"Goodnight, my brother. Sleep on what I have said," Isis called out to the retreating form. Her intuition was changing for the worse, and she feared what he gods had in store for her brother. She could only pray that she was doing the right thing for her only family. Isis knew that becoming a priest was the most righteous path for her to take to help her people, but for her brother? Though realization was slow, Isis could tell she could not lead Namu's life any more than she could control the wind._

_"You should not worry about him," a deep voice from behind said._

_Isis turned to see a large bald man with markings on his forehead standing calmly by one of the large support pillars. "Shada. I should have sensed your being here."_

_"My apologies, Miss Isis, but you looked so distress. I want to tell you that I can weigh your brother's soul a thousand times, and it will always be pure. For one who can predict the future, you fail to notice that you have little to fear. Please, let him be."_

_"I understand, Shada. Thank you for your support. I do urge you not to eavesdrop next time."_

_A very rare and very small smile spread across Shada's face. "Next time notice when you are being eavesdropped. Sleep well and may the gods be with you." When the large man finished all he had to say, he politely took his leave._

_Namu reached his room, but felt no welcoming from it. Even with lavish furnishings and grand structure, the room seemed empty and poor. The only comfort Namu appreciated was a small pile of soft cotton and silk as a sort of bed to relax. Namu laid himself face down on the sheet of silk as a few small tears fell from his eyes. "Akefia, for such a great thief, why aren't you here to steal me away?"_

[M*S]

Only Ishizu, Marik, and Bakura actually saw the ancient scene. Odion and Ryo waited patiently as their siblings' still bodies just remained as they were. Even Melvin began to stir into wakefulness and remained relatively patient as well due to the grogginess.

"That … certainly was not what I expected to see," Ishizu commented unsure of herself for once. She expected a scene of pain and sin, not of a sibling bickering that greatly resembled her own circumstances. The gods always worked in mysterious ways that she supposed not even she could predict, but nevertheless the situation just did not make sense to her. Why did they see that of all things?

"Please, Ishizu, leave me be. I have much to think about to the point I do not even know what to think. Give me time and leave for now."

"We should listen, Ishizu. Marik can take care of himself until our next arrival. For now let us take leave and let him sort himself out," Odion added.

Ishizu said nothing more. The only female in the room remained even more oddly silent than usual, lost in her thoughts. In her daze she forgot to even return the sacred necklace back to Marik. She and Odion left without words of goodbye for knowing that they would return sometime later.

* * *

So in my defense, Ryo is clearly gay; screw what LK says! I had really wanted to ask a person in my class on a "date" or whatever the weekend after the 31st of October (our Extended Essay that decides whether or not we get our diploma is due then). Last year we had a little heart-to-heart and he told me how he felt shy around girls a lot. I thought that was natural and said it didn't matter to me since I'm open enough with people for the both of us. Anyway, he has a boyfriend now, and got him the weekend before I was going to ask. My argument? I demand that if I cannot even get the chance to ask him out because he's gay, then Ryo better give me eye candy because in the manga he openly admits being around women makes him uncomfortable. I demand all men that are shy around women, yet that make for good yaoi be gay as a consolation for me. Make sense? Good, I think so, too. *sigh* I'm sorry for ranting. Just … kinda bummed me out.

I know this was a lame chapter, but I liked parts of it. My favorite scene was the beginning, but that is likely because I get to share a fragment of such a crucial philosophy of mine. I LOATHE when people ask for who I am when they really only just want my name. To be frank I think it's rude and stupid. I would likely go over some word count here if I ever tried to fully rant about my thoughts of someone's "self."

And yay for another flashback! This flashback takes place even before the last one. So much in this chapter feels like a filler to be perfectly honest, but I know my style better than that. In one way or another, a lot of details in this chapter will come back to bite me in the butt.

REVIEW/COMMENT please! I'd be eternally grateful. Yeah. Please. Pretty please


	6. Crust

So this is a whole month late (two months since last update). My goal was to get a chapter out a month since school sucks, but crap happened. October is a HORRIBLE time for us IB seniors, and November I spent working on various other stories to upload. The first story had some bad hype so I likely won't bother to post it, and my wonderful beta hated the second, so I decided to spare you all from reading both as I had only wasted my time writing them at all. This story also shoots me in the foot EVERY time I try to think of how to make the story flow and actually progress.  
Regardless, I finally deliver chapter six! Sorry my life sucks and I never have time to do things like this anymore. orz

* * *

**Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed. - Jonathan Swift**

The room stayed mostly silent. Bakura just sat trying to focus on neither the pain in his body nor the confusing visions that kept appearing. Marik instead tried to figure out what his sister showed them. Melvin barely began to stretch and awaken more. Ryo watched everyone rather shyly.

"The rain stopped," Ryo said into the quiet room.

"Great. That means we should leave now," Bakura said despite not getting up in fear of hurting himself or something giving out on him. His head felt light, and Bakura doubted his wakefulness would last much longer.

"Damn. Leaving already, cream-puff? If I wasn't so sore I would give you a ride," Melvin said with a wink to Ryo.

"No, thank you!" Ryo hastily replied with a small blush. "Besides, shouldn't we try to get you and Bakura dry?"

Melvin turned away with a scowl. "I guess. Fucking hate this. One moment I'm fighting with the Bitchy Twin and then the next moment I'm out cold. I bet that damned Odion did something when I was distracted! I hate that guy so fucking much." Melvin vented his anger out loud, but he made no real motion to get up and did not take things out physically.

"Odion probably did you both a favor by knocking you two out. You would have killed each other otherwise. Judging by how Bakura looks, he really could have died, idiot!" Marik scolded to his reckless twin.

"Hey, speaking of which, can we help Bakura?" Ryo pleaded with his kind, worried eyes. Naturally, neither Melvin nor Marik had any choice but to help.

Despite not wanting to have to help patch up Bakura again, Marik went over to the angrier of the pale males. Bakura lay unconscious and panting heavily on the sofa. Marik checked his forehead and noticed a fever. "Damn, he really looks bad. We need to get him out of these clothes. Melvin, get off your ass and help me grab him. We can change him there and let him rest on the bed."

Melvin opened his mouth to refuse, but Ryo tugged on his arm in such an annoyingly hopeful way with such a sad look that the blond surrendered. Melvin stood agitatedly, but walked to Marik to help carry Bakura nonetheless. Ryo wanted to help the two Egyptians, but they were much stronger and already lifted up his rather light brother with ease.

"I still think we should just leave him outside," Melvin said as he plopped Bakura on the bed when Marik let go.

"No. Please just let him rest here for awhile. It's not like I can carry him home in this situation. Can we just find him something dry to wear and leave him be for now?"

"I can see if my stuff will fit. Muscle Head's clothes would probably be too big," Marik commented looking through his shirts and pants. The blond figured one of his black undershirts and boxers would be good enough. Bakura had about an inch or so over Marik in height, but Marik definitely had a more built figure, so the clothes would likely still fit well.

"Er, I can undress him if you two just wait outside a bit," Ryo offered. Neither Egyptian left a complaint as they let the kind twin help his brother.

When the Marik shut the door to give Ryo and Bakura privacy, he shot Melvin a questioning glare. "What the hell is with you and him?" Marik asked in a somewhat hushed voice.

"Who? Bakura? He's just someone I fought with when I got angry, but it's not like I'm gonna kill him or-"

"No, not him! Ryo! You get off on causing people pain, not sticking your hand down their pants and shoving your tongue down their throats. Since when have you even liked men?"

"Since, have you seen him? He's better looking than any girl! I don't know what you want me to say. I can't keep my hands off him and that's about it," Melvin grew more and more testy. He was not someone to understand various emotions, and what was going on with him and Ryo was far too complicated to answer on the spot.

Marik studied his brother's expression for any hints for what was going on, but he saw nothing. Melvin looked as confused as Marik did. "Fine. Just keep it in your pants and off my bed."

"Okay, he's all changed," Ryo said suddenly looking at the two surprised males. "What? Something wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"No, nothing. Just talking about how cute you are," Melvin said honestly with a smirk. The larger teen leaned over the shy male, ready to just swoop in for a kiss before Marik tugged on his ear harshly.

"I said keep it in your pants, you tactless fool."

Ryo blushed slightly, though he was still mad at Melvin's comment from before. "I guess brothers everywhere argue," he commented to himself before getting between the other two. "Quit fussing. I don't want to treat anyone else tonight. Besides, I'm sure you two are hungry."

Melvin and Marik reached for their empt stomachs subconsciously and agreed that food overpowered their need to argue. "What do you have in mind?" Marik asked.

"Well, I was just going to cook whatever you two would let me. I feel horrible that I and Bakura are imposing so much. He's just so hurt now I don't think we'd make it without your kindness. I hoped to make dinner as thanks."

Marik wanted to tell Ryo that Bakura would not be in such a pathetic state if not for the two Egyptians, but kept the comment to himself. Ryo seemed like the type that would still insist on the opposite no matter what, so Marik surrendered and let the kind male do what he wanted. "I will help, though."

Melvin wanted to pull Ryo away from the kitchen and just have his way with the unsuspecting male, but he really did want something to eat. "I'll watch," Melvin added as he let himself into the small kitchen area.

Nothing eventful really happened in the rather peaceful time Marik and Ryo spent cooking. The two kicked Melvin out due to the lack of space and because Melvin kept flirting with Ryo. Ryo observed how little food the brothers had to eat and felt guilty for adding himself as a mouth to feed. Even if he had to chain down Bakura, Ryo vowed to himself that he would invite the other twins over for dinner at payment. The two Egyptians had a somewhat less shabby living space, but even Ryo and Bakura would rather eat well and live in shack than in a subpar apartment and scavenge for a meal.

From Ryo and Marik's limited amount of options, they chose to bake a small, makeshift-homemade pizza. The two baked it on a staling loaf of long Cuban bread, half a can of old sauce in the fridge, and some square American cheese and a bit of cheddar. Each male was hungry enough not to care about how lame the dinner actually was, and ate gratefully.

"You know, we should save a small piece for Bakura. I don't know when he'll awaken. I'll take it from my portion if you want me to," he said sweetly after each had finished their first of two pieces.

"No, Ryo. I do not mind giving a piece of mine to him. I mean, it is fair," Marik said, slightly guilty.

"Huh? Oh, it's fine. You really don't owe him anything! Even if he seemed really angry by everything from today, he won't hold a grudge. I … I think he probably did steal from you two. He knows when things deserve to be punished and when things don't. He won't like the fact that you caught him because of pride as a thief, but I think he respects you. He looks small because he hardly eats what he should, but not many people can hold their own against him. Really, you probably helped put him in his place a little. Thank you."

"I do not know how you think of things so kindly, Ryo. Thank you," Marik said eating the last bite of his portion of the pizza that he was not going to share.

"Huh? For what?" Ryo asked in surprise.

"For being such a perfect little housewife, probably," Melvin chipped in before licking his lips of the spare crumbs and sauce.

"I-I am not a 'perfect little housewife!' One time I broke two whole dinner plates doing the dishes. Oh, and I burned lasagna one time!" Ryo defended in a huff.

Marik mentally face-palmed at Ryo's naïveté. "You really are a housewife, Ryo. There's not a single masculine thing about you. . . ."

"Oh, I can think of one thing rather masculine about him," Melvin commented with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Okay, stop! Just stop speaking, both of you! I don't want to hear it. Marik, you check up on Bakura. I won't to be the 'little housewife' anymore to tonight," Ryo commanded with almost enough angry authority to make one believe he was actually Bakura.

"What? Why? He should probably continue resting!"

"I don't care. Make sure he's doing okay. Bring him his food if he wants some. Make sure he doesn't have a fever. You know, the 'wifey' stuff," Ryo calmly commanded. If Marik and Melvin did not know any better they would have thought Ryo was Bakura from the almost sly look on his face.

"No! I would never be considered his wife! He can rot and burn away for all I care."

"Marik, stop being a bitch. Check up on him so Ryo and I can be alone," Melvin sided with Ryo and put his arms around said male.

"I-I change my mind. I can make sure my brother is fine myself," the startled teen exclaimed trying to get up, but was pulled back down by Melvin's grip.

Marik tired of seeing the two constantly going at it, and changed him mind about checking Bakura. Helping the thief seemed like a lesser evil than watching Melvin molest Ryo anymore. The two had been so caught up in their own affair, neither noticed Marik slip into the bedroom where Bakura lay.

Marik kept the light off, but the sun's last rays of the day peaked inside the room from the window enough for Marik to see. Just as Ryo commanded he brought the other his food and laid it on the bedside table. Bakura never stirred from Marik's intrusion, and Marik took the chance to observe the thief a little better. The blond sat on the edge of the bed perpendicular to Bakura's stomach and leaned over the unconscious male curiously.

"Hey," Marik softly murmured near Bakura to see if the other would awaken. Still the other's only movements were the slight rise and fall of his chest. Marik tossed away the hair messily dangling over Bakura's face, and placed his hand to Bakura's forehead. The hair was only slightly moist, so Marik figured Ryo wisely dried it out a bit when he changed him. Marik concluded the pale male had no noticeable fever, but he worried about his overall condition, if only just slightly.

"I am sorry for today. You could be completely innocent for all I know. I should have handled this better," Marik sighed. The beginning sounded like an apology to Bakura at first, but the end seemed more like a way of him scolding himself. "I hope you will forgive me."

Marik stood up solemnly and continued to stare at Bakura. Even with bruises and cuts all over his body, a swollen bottom lip, and a rather lithe figure, Marik found Bakura to be somehow innately attractive. Most of Bakura's skin was still a light cream color, his long hair looked soft and flowed beautifully, his body was skinny but well proportioned and still slightly muscled, and even though his eyes were closed, Marik still recalled how he felt when he saw those mysterious, dark, maroon eyes. Marik never noticed his actions as he leaned in and kissed Bakura's uncut cheek sweetly like a doting mother would to her wounded child. Marik sat on his knees by the bedside as he gave one last gentle stroke to Bakura's soft, pale cheek.

Slowly Bakura opened his eyes to see a hand far too tan to be his own touching his face. The waking male widened his eyes fully and shot his body up, much to his later regret. "What the hell are you doing molesting me in my sleep?!"

"I was not molesting you! I was trying to ease you in your rest!" Marik countered bitterly.

"Probably to just make sure I'm unconscious for when you and your idiot brother molest me. I can sleep in my own, thanks," Bakura spat angrily.

Marik stood up again and held the bridge of his nose in an attempt to calm himself. "You," he said slowly, "need to shut up and stop complaining. We would never attack someone unconscious, and I doubt either one would want someone as loathsome as you to bed!"

"I don't think your words and actions add up. I was with only boxers and a loose t-shirt on, unconscious, and some guy that attacked me stroking me. I think I have a fine right to complain," Bakura seethed. "What the hell have you guys done with Ryo? We can't stay with you any longer."

"Ryo's eating pizza with Melvin. We even made you a portion, though I cannot understand why I decided to not let you starve at the moment."

Bakura eyed the blond for any dishonesty and when all he saw was hot anger, he scoffed a bit to himself. "Whatever, I don't really care anymore. I guess I can't fault you for wanted to get your hands on me. We can talk about your perverted habits when I'm done eating." Truthfully Bakura spotted the pizza left for him and really wanted to eat.

"That is so far from the truth. I would only want to get my hands on that petite little neck of yours just to wring the life out of you. Now eat and shut up."

"Aren't you going to leave me alone?" Bakura asked reaching for the plate that held the pizza. Bakura could not care less about table manners, but even he knew he became quite messy when eating food, and knowing the other's prissy ways the blond would likely scold him annoyingly.

"As backwards as it may seem, I would rather bicker with you more than risk walking out of this room to see Ryo and Melvin having sex on the table," Marik explained with a wince from the thought. "Before you rush out and try to defend your brother's chastity, remember you are still weak and Melvin would crush you. I am sure your brother is actually just fine."

Bakura thought about Marik's logic, and decided that he would not bother Ryo. If his brother wanted to squander his virginity to a psychopath, Bakura would let him. The angry teen was hungry and tired, so he decided his priorities remained with the pizza on his plate. Granted, when Bakura started to eat the pizza it was gone after only roughly two minutes. Marik barely even blinked as he watched the white-haired male destroy any crumb of food from the plate, showing off his fang-like teeth and making a mess all over his face.

"That," Marik said with a bit of disgust, "should have choked you. Are you even going to wipe you face?"

"Probably won't have to. Knowing your perversions you'd lick it right off me," Bakura said with a usual cocky grin. Bakura honestly did abhor Marik, but even he could not refute the actual attractiveness of the blond. Bakura may not even dislike Marik for the right reasons. Sure, the blond openly assaulted him, but he could admit that that was merited. Marik's personality grated Bakura a lot, but that was because Marik had a genuine look of care in his eyes that defied how often he actually hurt Bakura. Marik actually held his own against Bakura, which earned a fair amount of respect, and did not actually treat the wounded male like an inferior being. Even with Ryo Bakura never felt so open to say exactly what was on his mind and engage in a battle of the wits as well as fists. How Marik viewed Bakura still could not be deciphered.

"You sicken me. You need something to wipe your face," Marik said looking around the room for a towel or napkin. Marik discontinued his search when he saw Bakura lazily wipe the sauce off his face with his arm to lick it off. "You have no shame, do you?"

"Probably not," Bakura answered with a shrug. "I am rather scantily clad, flirting with a blond prick, and eating that same prick's food, after all. I'd say I'm pretty scandalous, but it isn't as though that makes me any less appealing to you."

"I would hardly count the insults you throw my way flirting. You are little more than a nuisance. Ryo put you in those clothes so that you would not get sick soaking wet, so your clothing has nothing to do with me. I only fed you because . . . it seemed like the right thing to do," Marik said a bit unsure of himself. The Egyptian knew letting someone go hungry was cruel and unfair, so he did not dispute his moralistic logic, but something nagged in him there was more to the situation than he could admit.

"Why would you help someone deemed as a lowly and poor thief?" Bakura asked taken aback. Marik continued to annoy the Brit with his hypocrisy that one minute he wanted Bakura dead and the next he preached morals of trying to help. Bakura knew that Marik had another reason for his wish-washy behavior.

"I know what it is like to be one," Marik responded in a monotone like the words were not even his own. The two looked at the bread crumbs on the plate, then back to the other's needy gaze.

[M*S]

_"Nam … u … please go to the marketplace … for some food," a younger Isis, around 16 years of age, pleaded to her brother. Her voice cracked as her throat burned with ever dry word she spoke. The loving sister had been giving the last remaining food to Namu as she tried to raise money and work. The older person wanted her brother to be well, but she knew he would refuse to eat the last of the food if he knew he only ate because she denied her self any. Luckily she had earned a bit of money, so if Namu rushed he could bring her something to sustain her._

_"Sister Isis! Why are you like this? You look so unwell!" Namu questioned in panic that his beloved sister would die of starvation._

_Isis would have none of Namu's complaints, and shushed his with her fingers to his lips as firmly as she could in her weak state. "No questions. Take this money," she ordered with a pause as she reached in her cloak for two low-value coins "Buy some apples from the market. Please hurry, brother," she requested feebly._

_Namu nodded his head and wasted no time to the marketplace. The young male never visited the open bazaar by his lonesome, but he knew the route well enough to travel alone. As often as Isis insisted that Namu was only a child, he knew he could be trusted with such an important duty. The young boy owed his sister for far too much to let her down when she was only weakened because of him. Namu really had not been fed particularly well, but he still had enough energy to rush to anywhere that sold food and water._

_Namu and Isis lived on the open sands of the desert a small ways away from most people. The two never fared well in the company of so many people, and rarely were street scum with no home treated hospitably. At one point Namu thought the palace guards were going to take them into slavery on a chance run-in, but thankfully they escaped by pure luck._

_Namu panted hard as his feeble legs limped to a produce stand. The owner glared at him with judging eyes, but he let the boy rest as he handled someone he deemed as a real customer. Namu finally felt his heart beat stabilize slightly and pulled out the money Isis had given him. Namu remembered last time they bought food, so he counted roughly enough for a half dozen apples and some needed water._

_"May I take some apples?" Namu asked trying to find the six biggest ones._

_"Ha, if you have the money, riffraff. Knowing your type you'll just contaminate the fruit!" The merchant scorned. His black eyes scrutinized Namu behind the round fats of his cheek. Namu feared he would be struck by one of the man's trunk-like arms just for asking, but he would not be startled or leave without something for Isis._

_"I have money, you old swine! See?" Namu said proudly holding out the small amount._

_The vendor smiled cruelly the showed all of his yellow and rotted out teeth as he took the money right out of Namu's hand. "Ah, you must be so proud of this? Someone like you probably stole it from some poor peasant sap. Don't worry, I'll put it back into honest hands."_

_"What?! No, you need to return that! Those are mine! I need some apples and water with that!" Namu pleaded ready to pounce on the overgrown man._

_"Oh, do you?" the man mocked tossing Namu two rotting apples. "You'll get plenty of fluid from those. I even gave you one for a friend."_

_Namu lost his temper entirely. The young boy threw one rotted apple at the vendor's large head as a distraction before running off cradling many more in his arms._

_"Wh-what?! No! Stop that thief brat! He robbed me! He robbed me!"_

_Some officers around heard the cry of the vendor without witnessing the events prior and started chasing Namu. Most people were already used to thieves and knew the cruelties of that specific vendor, so they continued to shop. An occasional hand made a grab for Namu, but his small frame dodged them. Namu was still tired, however, from his sprint just getting to the marketplace, so he felt his energy fading the more he ran away._

_Namu barely even knew his way around the streets anymore. The only thing he had on his minds were to run away, but he mistakenly took a bad turn into the corner of a stand. He fell along with all the apples just as the guards were approaching him. Namu barely registered the sound of swords being drawn as he saw two blades ready to come down on a hand he had lying to the side. Namu shut his eyes, but nothing seemed to happen as be could still move all parts of his body. Instead of seeing spewing red blood, Namu stranger's back wearing a flowing red cloak standing on the guards._

_"Come on and hurry up," the man, perhaps only a boy as well with a voice that youthful, commanded from over his shoulder. Namu glimpsed at the stranger's tan face to see a powerful amethyst eye. "Hurry, you idiot!"_

_Namu nodded and sprinted after the stranger, not even trying to regain the fallen apples. The guards could regain consciousness at any moment, but luckily the stranger seemed to know his way around the marketplace and after a few well-planned turns and one hidden tunnel, both he and Namu were out on open desert sands away from any people._

_"Oh, Ra, no! The food! My sister is desperately in need of those apples! I-I cannot believe I failed!" Namu shouted at himself as he fell on his knees and began to weep._

_"I can see how you failed clear as day. You were a mess back there. What would you have done if I hadn't helped you?!" The stranger scolded finally turning to face Namu. The stranger looked hardly older than Namu, and fairly petite despite how large the cloak made him appear from behind. His eyes were hardened, but mesmerizing nonetheless, even showing some care. His ashen-lavender hair reached about to his chin in a disarray and contrasted with his lovely dark skin._

_"I probably would have died or been mutilated," Namu admitted without looking at the handsome boy. "Perhaps that would be only right for failing my sister!"_

_"Get over yourself. We can still help your sister if you follow to me to my horse. I have some water and apples with my horse. I'll give you some, so hurry up and follow me."_

_Namu stared at the other in disbelief. Following the stranger had only led to positive results so far, but why would the gods bless him with such an angel in disguise like this? "Why would you feed someone deemed as a lowly and poor thief?"_

_"I know what it is like to be one," was all the stranger said, and all Namu cared to know for the time being._

_[~*~]_

_The two walked to the stranger's horse in silence, and Namu had to chuckle seeing someone that seemed only like a boy riding such a fierce looking steed. The stranger glared at Namu, but still held out his hand to help the other on the horse. "Hold onto my waist and guide me to your sister."_

_Namu nodded despite the other not looking at him. The brunette male held onto the other thief and guided the other as best he could to the hideout Isis and he made. The desert seemed so foreign, but Namu inherited just enough of his sister's strong intuition to lead them to her. She had passed out and barely breathed as that needed too much energy. Namu almost fell off the horse as he rushed to her. "The water, please!" Namu pleaded to the strange boy._

_The boy nodded and unsaddled himself. He removed some water he had been storing in a pouch attached to his horse and some crusty bread. "Here," the boy said authoritatively._

_Namu's eyes welled with unsure tears and he took the precious food and water. "Thank you," he voice choked before draining much of the water down Isis' throat. He could not make her eat well unconscious, so he continued to carefully give her water until she could feel rehydrated enough to awaken._

_"This is where I'll take my leave. Goodbye, idiot," the stranger announced getting back on his horse._

_"W-wait! Your name! Who are you? I owe you everything. How will I find you?" Namu asked reaching for the boy's hand._

_The stranger smirked and connected his smug eyes with Namu's pleading ones. "Just follow the path of wherever you hear the rumors of the Great Thief King Akefia. As for what you owe me, I'll definitely collect when it's the right time."_

_"You don't even know my name! How will you find me?" Namu asked incredulously._

_"I'll follow the trail of an idiot rookie thief. Once again, farewell. Work on your thieving a bit while I'm gone." As soon as gone left Akefia's lips his horse took off in an unknown direction. Namu looked down on the ground where the horse had been to find another small bag. Namu almost called the thief back to reclaim his lost items until he looked inside to find the exact money the vendor had taken and an apple._

_"Akefia," Namu said to himself before taking a tentative bite of the apple. "Mock my words, but I will return this favor to you."_

_Following the stranger could be debated as one of the worst and best decisions Namu ever made in his short life. On one side the two's fateful meeting would bring the downfall of the other, but on the other side Isis had been saved and Namu and Akefia created a bond so powerful neither could comprehend it lasting for millennia to come._

[M*S]

Marik and Bakura heard a light knock on the door that brought them out from their silent stupor. "Marik? Are you alright? You've been in there some time," Ryo quietly called in case Bakura still lied asleep.

Marik got up to open the door and saw Ryo with a half-worried, half-curious stare. "Bakura woke up and we've been arguing. Nothing … nothing else happened," he replied even sounding unsure to himself. "If you two are staying for the night, we should make sleep arrangements."

"How many times have I told you we're going home?" Bakura added in angrily. "I'm sick of being here and all the mind games."

"Mind games?" Ryo asked hesitantly. "Bakura, we can't leave like this. Go back to bed and we might be able to leave if you feel better tomorrow. I promise," Ryo assured having every intention to keep the promise if Bakura did improve.

Bakura scrutinized his twin for any room to dispute, but truthfully still wanted to go back to bed, so he surrendered. "Fine then, but get that bloody wanker out before I kick him out."

"No need to tell me twice," Marik spat walking out and slamming the door behind himself. "The bed is only good for one, so if Bakura takes that we only have the couch and floor to sleep on."

"Ryo and I can sleep on the couch together," Melvin suggested with a smirk. "He can sleep on me."

Ryo blushed and shook his head. "I'm sure I would just roll off, anyway."

"Not if I hold you. Or maybe I can tie you up and just-"

"No!" Marik cut in. "You can sleep on the couch. Alone. Ryo and I will can make a bed on the floor. Sound reasonable?"

"Yes," Ryo said at the same time Melvin said, "No."

"Good. I'll set up the blankets. I am more than ready to end this hectic day," Marik said going to the small linen closet. The blond likely would not get a wink of sleep as he would think about the strange visions he kept having and why Bakura seemed to keep triggering them.

* * *

As I have previously mentioned I do not have much time; that means I don't have time to review. In the summer time I tried to review for everyone and make them GOOD REVIEWS up to 10+ paragraphs because, to be honest, I would like others to do the same for me. Alas, that doesn't seem to be possible anymore for awhile. I still do try to review when I can, but _what the heck are you all doing?!_ There are some REALLY good stories out there that show just as much talent and work put into them as this with like a fourth of the love (or vice versa where bad fics get all the love they shouldn't)! I want you all to review not just my amazing story, but all the stories that you can! Please, it makes me feel better and gives me less stress knowing things balance out better. Especially for **Fangirl16**, I think you especially want to hate her really good stories; she gets no loving reviews!

CONTEST TIME! Same reward possibilities as last time:

_1) Give the maiden name of the wife of the teacher that taught me the most classes in high school. _

_2) Give the zip/postal code of the hospitial my mother was born._

_3) What was the first test I took on November 30th, 2012?_

_4) Which guy in my IB class is considered "The Sphinx of Delft"?_

_5) Who is my favorite YuGiOh antagonist from any series, and from that same series give the name of my favorite character. (Hint: think of the "real" names)_

By the way if anyone actually gets one of those questions correct I'm pressing charges for being a stalker and likely having to commit felonies to obtain such incormation.

Regardless, REVIEW MY STORY, please! I would feel greatly obliged, and I am so greatful for the support already given to me! Thanks guys, but now you have to live up the the expectations! Whoot!


	7. Gust

I really shouldn't have been playing the Les Miserables music in the background; it's hard to focus on writing when such sad events are being sung in the background.  
Also, I'm really disappointed that no one even tried to crack a guess at those questions! Fret not, my dears, for I have made the new batch much easier (just not at face value). Also, I love IV from Zexal as my favorite YGO antagonist; Gauche is my favorite character. Also, my teacher's wife's maiden name is King, same as my last name. I was LIVID when my teacher told me that she told him that she told me; his extra credit question can be anywhere from 5 points to 3000, but the higher ones are anywhere from who scored the last touchdown in the 1989 NFL to his wife's current odometer.

**Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living.**** - ****Anais Nin**

The four males rested uneasily that night. While the sleeping arrangements were less than appealing, the main cause for their discomfort was more emotional than physical. Not one of the four could completely understand what was happening to them, but each had a nagging voice in the back of their minds desperately trying to … Well, no one knew what the voice was trying to say. Still, each welcomed the night and a chance to try and recover from such an exhausting day. Marik had dressed down to only his pants while Ryo had removed his pants and kept his shirt and boxers. Melvin insisted that he and Ryo just sleep naked together, but Marik convinced his brother none too kindly to remain fully clad or else. When sleep fell over the three males in the living room, they had already forgotten about Bakura, who had began his own peculiar dream for the night much before the others.

[M*S]

_Time passed at a fraction its normal pace. Bakura saw the world leisurely move by in first person. Sand and more sand spread over vast amounts of land, and the young dreamer wonder why his mind had taken him to such an odd place. Bakura's senses were not clouded, nor was he fooled into believing the land before him was real. Despite knowing well that he was dreaming, Bakura lacked the ability to awaken, as though forces needed him to experience his little dream world._

_Bakura had been so caught up in observing the dream-world that he never heard footsteps behind him until it was too late. From the back someone jumped on Bakura and brought him to the ground. The stranger pinned Bakura down, as would be expected of an attacker, but then he nuzzled his head into the crook of Bakura's neck. Bakura took the chance to throw off the assaulter and quickly turned around to fight the person foolish enough to molest the thief._

_Bakura gasped as it appeared to be the same person from his visions. Namu glared at Bakura from the sandy ground with his vivid honey eyes that pierced right into Bakura's heart. Bakura finally looked down at his own hands to realize that they were dark brown rather than creamy porcelain. Bakura met Namu's eyes again, and could not falter his gaze away again._

_"Well? What was that for? I was only playing. I know you take things seriously, but I thought it has been long enough since we had a good romping. Normally you jump at the chance to have me," the young male complained angrily. "At least help me up, Akefia," he ordered extending a hand._

_Bakura scoffed and turned his back on the other male. "You can get up on your own. Serves you right, idiot."_

_"What? That is heartless, even for you. I was just excited to hold you again. Didn't you miss me even a little bit, Akefia?" Namu asked with a wink._

_"No," Bakura coldly answered._

_Namu sighed and glared at Bakura again. "Fine. Last time I try to make you excited about me, Akefia. Clearly you don't find me arousing anymore."_

_Bakura turned back around and sighed. Namu really was breathtaking. Bakura knew he was dreaming, and he knew that he found Namu handsome in all the visions from before, but never would he submit his pride by pleading for even an imaginary male to forgive him. Why Bakura would picture himself as a guy from random hallucinations was beyond him, especially since he had to deal with the other annoying person from the visions._

_Namu said nothing more and kept a simple stare on Bakura. Bakura found it annoying, but the brunet seemed to do it with a backwards form of hurt that made the thief pity the other male. "Stop looking at me like that. You're plenty arousing, so stop annoying me."_

_Namu continued to stare at Bakura, a look that said that Bakura should already know why Namu was staring. "Bakura, you're trying to make me forgive the wrong things again." Namu reached out to grab Bakura's hands, and surprisingly, Bakura did not pull away._

_Bakura froze. The dream Namu had been referring to him as Akefia, but then he changed it to Bakura. The thief was confused by the sudden change, and he wondered if the dream would have a point. When Bakura was about to reply back, Namu spoke again._

_"Don't ask for forgiveness; don't even try to gain it. What you've done is already forgiven. What you will do is what matters most, Bakura." Namu looked at Bakura with half-lidded, rueful eyes. All the former playful left and only a sad, wounded man was standing before Bakura. "I wish I had more time with you, to make you understand. Maybe next time you'll be as happy to see me as I am to see you." Slowly, the other tan then began to fade._

_The sands began to swirl with great force in an encompassing storm. The sands spiraled around where Namu was, as if blowing him away to the point one could not even see past the grainy barricade. Bakura extended his arm in vain to breach the spot where the spiraling sands most focused, but the sand threw Bakura away from the other male._

When Bakura opened his eyes after landing, he found himself lying in Marik's bed with a foreign, small ache in his heart. For good measure Bakura looked at his arms by the light of the moon to see that his pale skin was back, as well as his skinny frame. Bakura looked around to see any other signs that he was dreaming, but only can across the closet he stole the ring from. The door was open a sliver, and Bakura knew there was more gold in the closet, but actually _scowled_at the idea of the gleaming metal. Of all reactions to gold, Bakura never found himself actually displeased with any of it. The gold in the closet started the whole mess, and Bakura wanted nothing more than to cut all associations with it.

Begrudgingly Bakura made a new decision and finally got out of bed. The pale teen opened the door at and saw Ryo and Marik sprawled on the floor. Bakura knew Ryo was a bit of a cuddler, but seeing his brother latched into Marik's arm still annoyed the wakeful twin. Still, seeing Ryo on Marik so comfortably would make his plan all the more satisfying. Bakura shook Marik on his other arm. Marik barely stirred, so Bakura shook harder and harder. With all the shaking, Ryo was the one about to awaken.

Bakura was about to give up realizing Marik slept like a corpse, but he vaguely saw the blond stirring in his sleep. Bakura leaned in to try and wake the blond again, only to hear a low and strained moaned. Bakura's eyes widened slightly, but returned to normal when his eyes trailed down Marik's body and he realized why Marik would be less than cooperative to get up.

"Oh, Marik, it's time to get up," Bakura cooed into the blond's ear.

"Mm. Akefia… please, Akefia," Marik moaned lowly.

Bakura's expression turned sour again and decided to just pull Marik up by one arm. The blond snapped into consciousness, but remained foggy and angry. "Wh-what the-?! Who is there?!" Marik shouted.

"Shh!" Bakura scolded flinging a hand over Marik's mouth. "Don't wake the others. I need to talk to you."

"And this could not wait until morning?"

"No. It's important, so get over your little wet dream and come outside with me," Bakura ordered dragging Marik to the door.

Marik yanked his arm from Bakura's grip. "Fine." Marik had half a mind to slap the annoying dream-killer, but decided to give him the chance to talk. If Bakura said something that turned out to be trivial, Marik would just throw him over the railing.

"Good," Bakura said finally going outside with Marik following.

The blond waited for a response, but Bakura decided to sit on the cold concrete and let his legs dangle over the edge of the building beneath the railing. Marik sighed, but joined the other in the odd position. Bakura still only wore an undershirt and boxers, and Marik was still only in his pants. Their hair was a mess, and their eyes had a fiery essence in them. Marik just got rid of his annoying erection by thinking of Melvin in a speedo, but in total they still looked rather lewd. Neither cared much since they were not in any sort of decent neighborhood anyway. Finally Marik gave Bakura a meaningful glance and the other shrugged.

"I'll give back your ring," Bakura said openly without tripping over a single word.

Marik's mouth hung open slightly. After all the time and fighting trying to defend his innocence, Bakura openly agreed to return the artifact? Marik was more than hesitant to believe the thief. "What's the catch?"

"That you get out of my life."

"Well, you would definitely be forced not to see anyone if I pressed charges and you went to jail. Why would you come clean after all that struggling?" Marik asked almost annoyed that Bakura would not continue the charade. After all that pain and struggling, Marik had almost began to feel guilty about accusing the thief. Almost.

"Well, you still wouldn't annoy me, so I guess I don't care. Ryo wouldn't have another mouth to feed, and he wouldn't have to try helping me anymore. You'd probably press charges anyway, so I'm just saving everyone a lot of grief. Especially me." Bakura leaned back and rested himself on his hands. The thief eyed the cloudy sky and wondered why the stars never seemed to shine on him when he tried to do something semi-decent.

Marik stayed quiet for a moment and pressed his head against the cold metal bar. He gripped two other poles of the railing and imagined Bakura in his place. He pictured Bakura behind cold, bleak bars in a hopeless area. Marik pictured the broken look on Ryo's sad face seeing his dear twin locked away with such shame. Marik sighed and shook his head. The blond turned to Bakura again, making sure their eyes connected before speaking. "I will not get out of your hair so easily. Since you openly confessed that you do have my ring, you better return it. Even if I do not bring the police involved, you will return it."

"And I said I would bloody return it if you and your molester brother get out of my life!"

"My brother and I will be in your life for as long as it takes to make you repay us!"

"Repay you for what? This is a fair deal! I'm sure at least Melvin's been repaid well enough by getting his filthy hands over Ryo's innocent body. Why are you all so bloody annoying?"

"I believe you are far more annoying than I am. You cause me infinite stress and anguish. I demand compensation. You were the one that caused this turn of events anyway from the moment you decided to steal from me."

Bakura knew that the logic was at least semi-valid, and the thief regretted his actions every minute he spent with the Egyptian brothers. Bakura turned away from the blond and starred back into the starless sky in unsaid defeat. From the corner of his eyes Bakura noticed Marik looking up as well. The thief understood that he and the Egyptian would likely never get along, nor would they probably ever escape each other, but in the end they still could see the same sky, breath the same air, feel the same emotions. As much as Bakura hated to admit it, Marik and he did have similar emotions. Neither would back down due to immense stubbornness, neither disliked their twins going at each other, both liked gold, both trusted each other in a backhanded, spiteful way. Bakura could trust Marik to be annoying and vice versa. In a way Bakura would go so far as to call Marik as an equal.

"We should go back inside, you know," Marik said turning away from the sky to look at Bakura.

"No, I. . . ." Bakura paused a bit trying to make sure his next question wouldn't sound as stupid as he thought, which he decided it sounded even more stupid. "I have something else to talk to you about."

"Fine. Make it quick; I am getting cold," Marik commanded.

Bakura glared at the order, but spoke anyway. "Have you been having weird visions?"

Marik paused, unable to word the best answer. "Yes," the blond said dumbly. "As you should know the show Ishizu showed was not smoke and mirrors; it was all true, but since you and I met I have been experiencing, well, I thought they were merely mental lapses to be honest."

"I don't think they're mental lapses. I heard the dream you were having. You were moaning 'Akefia' in your sleep. That's one of the names from the visions you've been having, isn't it?"

"Yes, but the dream was a bit foggy. I remember him calling me 'Namu' at first, and I remember how right it felt to be held by him. If he is just someone from my visions, I cannot understand why he would appear in my dreams so vividly. I know very little on all of this. We could ask my sister, Ishizu, but she tends to only rattle more questions than answers," Marik explained resting his head on the pole again in defeat.

"So I noticed. She's just as annoying as you, anyway. I bet she'd be just as useless." Bakura growled to himself in frustration from the situation. "Did your dream 'Akefia' say anything you can remember?"

"I cannot really recall. He was more willing to let his hands do the talking. I have never been able to remember my dreams well, but," Marik paused to take a breath, "but I know he told me that he was sorry. He also said forgiveness should be as endless as the repentance." Marik eyed Bakura a bit at the last comment.

"Bullshit! You're lying through your teeth! You just want me to feel like I owe you so that you can 'forgive' me later!"

Marik released a devilish laugh and denied nothing. "I cannot recall a time yet that I have spoken a dishonest tale, good sir." In Marik's defense, he really never lied to Bakura, but the blond could only remember so much of the dream.

"You're such a bloody git. I can't wait until you leave me alone. Once we figure out these fucking visions I'm never coming with a mile radius of you idiots."

"If you are going to be a grumpy asshole, you can take it inside. I believe it is I who will enjoy never seeing you again." Marik shoved Bakura almost playfully as they sat as relaxed in the cool night. Bakura pushed back with just as much force, which led Marik to push back again. The two went at each other with growing smiles and less and less anger. The fight turned into an almost playful battle of who would be the most stubborn and keep going. Marik was prepared to push Bakura again until a glass bottle shattered on the metal bar near his hand.

"Flirt in hell, faggots!" a very drunk and slurred yell came from the near the stairwell near the two males. The bottle still had horrible smelling alcohol in it and the shards landed everywhere to the point it would be impossible to get up without at least one cut. The person that yelled had another equally drunk friend beside him snickering. Marik was about to retort back until Bakura took over for him.

"Grow a pair, fucking asshole! Like you won't be sucking your drunk friend's little dick tonight when he'll be too plastered to refuse!" Bakura shot them a bird and stood up disregarding the glass everywhere to go inside. "Are you going to take more of their shit or come inside with me?"

Marik replied by getting up and walking in after Bakura. The two drunkards continued shouting back at them, but both Marik and Bakura knew they were not worth any more time. Melvin slept throughout everything, but Ryo looked like he was almost about to awaken, so the two fuming males decided to calm down a little so the noise would not cause the kind twin to wake up and demand explanations.

Neither male was tired enough to return to sleep, so both went into Marik's bedroom to calm down and relax. Marik walked where Bakura had already stepped to avoid being cut, but once inside the Egyptian noticed a small trail of blood and a cut on Bakura's pinky toe. Bakura seemed not to notice, which annoyed Marik even more.

"Stop walking already, you idiot! You will get blood in even more places," Marik commanded grabbing Bakura's shoulders and pushing him down to the bed. "Stay here and I will get the first aid kit again."

Bakura could not argue because Marik had already left. The pale teen normally noticed when he had an injury, but he was probably too livid by the stupid drunks to even register the pain from the cut. The nerve of the idiot drunkards assuming Bakura and Marik were actually _flirting _sickened Bakura. No matter how plastered, no one should never be able to accuse Bakura of doing something so vile and get away with it.

Marik returned in the middle of Bakura's fuming with the kit in hand. The unsuspecting blond kneeled on the floor next to Bakura, and grabbed the cut foot only to be kicked in the shoulder. "What the hell? I have not even done anything!"

"I can do it myself. Don't touch me, idiot. It's your fault this happened anyway," Bakura explained snatching disinfectant and a cotton swab.

"How the hell is it my fault? You are the one that stepped outside barefooted." Marik stood up to tower over Bakura and prepare himself for another fight.

"You're the one that initiated our little shoving contest. The way you look would have made even a sober person assume you're a little faggot. It's disgraceful to have people put me at your level."

"How am I the disgraceful one?! You are the one that resorts to petty theft and fighting. You cannot do a single nice thing for someone. Also, little news flash: I look a hell of a lot more heterosexual than you," Marik spat giving Bakura a venomous glare. "I cannot believe I was ready to thank you for defending me back there. All that mattered was your damn self."

Bakura looked away from Marik's hard glare and shrugged. "It's not like I ever pretended to be anything more than that."

"You are just … unbelievable. You really are."

"Well, thanks. You are, too; I still can't fathom how you can still yell at me without losing that grainy voice of yours."

"I guess you just give me proper motivation to yell," Marik bitterly said.

"It's a natural talent, then." Bakura smirked at Marik's increasingly visible angry vein until he felt a brief pang of remorse. Though the thief only faltered for a moment, the blond's glaring gaze caught it quickly.

"What are you thinking, Bakura?" Marik asked warily.

"It's nothing. I just thought about something, but the thought's long gone now," Bakura answered not without his usual arrogance, but with also an air of confusion. Bakura met Marik's gaze with half-rueful eyes he had never shown anyone else. "Marik, about what I told those idiots outside, I guess a part of me was trying to protect you when I said it. I'm _almost _happy you walked behind me and didn't get cut on the glass yourself."

Marik released a sigh and nodded. Marik assumed that that was likely the closest thing to something kind Bakura had ever done. Though he still acted like a complete asshole, Marik saw the underlying part of the thief that did have a beating heart. "Do not think I could not have handled that situation alone. Idiots of every variant come around here, so I probably would have handled it better, actually. You just made an unnecessary scene."

"That sort of thing happens often? Jeez, and here I thought I was special. You bring other boys here to flirt with?"

Marik slightly flushed and grabbed the pillow off the bed to hit Bakura. "Ugh! That is not what I meant and you know it!" The blond scolded, hitting Bakura again for good measure. "And we were not flirting with each other! Just go to sleep before I maim you."

"Fine. G'nignt, Marik. Sweet dreams," Bakura teased, remember what Marik was obviously dreaming before.

Marik did not dignify Bakura with any more words. As a light form of revenge, Marik decided to keep the pillow. Even if the blond already had had one, Ryo probably already subconsciously took it, and knowing Bakura had none made it even more precious. Marik never stole really big items, but the Egyptian always liked the feeling of "getting away with it" when I had stolen something, and knowing it was stolen would help him sleep easy that night.

[M*S]

When Marik next awoke, he had a stiff neck and noticed Ryo and Melvin nowhere to be seen. Bakura was sitting in the kitchen drinking some water, looking absolutely bored as could be. The older teen also wore his usual outfit that seemed to have dried, and that gave Marik some relief so he would not see more of the almost naked Briton.

"Well, rise and shine, sleepy beauty," Bakura said mockingly.

"Morning," Marik replied trying to get out the last of his fatigue. "Where are our brothers?"

"Ryo and Melvin went out to get breakfast an hour ago. I swear they should be back by now, though. If that damn molester is laying any moves on my brother I swear I'm going to kill you both," Bakura threatened in a quick mumble more to himself than to Marik.

"Ah, so I get to spend even more quality time with you. I must be so lucky." Marik looked around his makeshift bed to see that his pillow was gone. "Hey! No wonder I have a stiff neck! You took my pillow!"

"Trust me, Marik, you're stuff regardless of what I steal. As for the question, you stole it first."

"Because it is, in fact, _my _pillow! At least you had a bed to sleep on, you selfish thief," Marik fumed glaring at the other male. "Our brothers better come soon before I do something I will regret," Marik mumbled, except a part of him believed if he did something to Bakura no one would reprimand him.

Marik heard the door open to see Melvin letting Ryo inside. "Good morning, everyone. Are you two done trying to kill each other?" Ryo greeted putting some grocery bags on the counter. Melvin followed in behind Ryo carrying most of the bags and dropped them on the counter lazily.

"More like only starting," Marika answered a bit groggily. "What did you two buy?"

"Oh, just a few necessities. I brought milk, eggs, bread, rice, fruit, et cetera. I would have bought more meat, but Melvin said you didn't like that and that it didn't go well in your stomach. I got eggs and some fish so there's at least some protein in your diet."

"And where exactly did you get the money to pay for this?" Bakura asked surveying how much the food cost.

"Your room, between the bed sheets. I figure you owe them more than I do, so I didn't bother using my own money except for a few things. If you complain about it then I won't make you breakfast." Ryo smiled when he spoke, but Bakura still heard the threat despite also hearing the growl of his stomach.

"Fine! It's not like I won't get more anyway. Maybe if you feed the damn blond over there," he said gesturing to Marik, "he'll develop an actually masculine physique."

"Oh? And if I recall well this "un-masculine" physique could take you down easily," Marik mocked getting up just in case Bakura would like to test that claim.

"Shut the hell up! The longer you two bicker, the longer it'll take for Ryo to cook. I didn't carry all the damn bags just to not eat," Melvin snapped warning the other two hotheads.

"Hey! I carried some bags, too," Ryo mumbled though no one cared to listen. The oldest male sighed and decided to put away the food he would not be cooking while the others fought. All in all, Ryo could tell that at least everyone was getting along a _little _better, so with that thought in mind he beamed a kind smile and started breakfast.

When Melvin pinched Ryo's butt while Bakura and Marik were distracted bickering, the teen realized he rather they all fight each other; at least then Ryo could ignore them and have his body left alone.

* * *

So this chapter is much shorter than the last few, only scraping 4k words, but I was pushing it already so ended it there.

Unlike the previous chapter this one actually doesn't have a flashback. When I see on tv people having their supposed "flashback" it sickens me because its always in the thied person point of view. It's sickening because that simply makes NO SENSE when they have flashbacks as "memories." In this story, the flashbacks ARE NOT memories Bakura and Marik actually have (otherwise they would have probably noticed them long before), so it's more like -how should I say?- like they're the recollection of events GIVEN to Marik and Bakura to see. The dream, however, came all from Bakura and Namu, so that way it was interactive as one would be in the real world. Bakura could not even see himself in the dream like in the real world; he would it notice that he looked like Akefia right away. If it helps make any sense of the flashbacks at all, there you go. I can't really explain them better just yet.

**QUIZ TIME!**  
1) Who is my favorite male Disney protagonist?

2) Of all the people I've quoted for the epigraphs in this story, whom do I love the most?

3) In what city in Florida was my tenth grade teacher born which has another city elsewhere?

4) Where do I attend High school?

5) What Am I looking at right now?

Also, PLEASE REVIEW FOR EVERYONE YOU CAN! There are a lot of very good stories on this site that get maybe 1-2 reviews. **Fangirl16** barely gets anything for her work.** His Consqeuence** is a story that I think is really good and deserves some more. Off the top of my head I cannot remember the others, but please do your part to help us loving writers!

Unless you're that one person. I cannot recall the username, but it seemed like every time I made a small critique the person would backhand my review. DWFWFGW! That was so frustrating.


	8. Bust

It's not like I can really excuse this being SO FREAKING late – I did NOT expect it to be – but there was nothing I could do. I've had weeks where I was so busy that from Sunday to Friday (before I get home) I would have only gotten 8-11 hours of sleep that whole week. Since everything right now GOES TO MY DIPLOMA, this story (though it always is on my mind) is not the PRIORITY. If anyone here is or was an IB senior, you should understand. I'd say I'll update more since all my Internal Assessments are finally completed, bur that would be a lie. At BEST I'll have a chapter in April, but if I don't update in April, I CANNOT update until JUNE to take my IB Papers and AP tests for the entirety of May. I literally only have about three school days in May where I do have to come to school, almost every other day I'm purely testing or need to study. It's not like I'm getting my diploma, though, so I'm only really studying for key subjects I want the college credit for like English, French, Math, History, and World Religions. Not to mention I've been taking an AP Macroeconomics class for the past nine weeks (did not want that extra workload, but it's the only class that fit in my second semester schedule), and I think it would be awesome to pass that one.

I REALLY AM SORRY.

* * *

By the time Ryo finished making breakfast, everyone else was peppered in bruises. Melvin had joined in the brawl between Marik and Bakura simply for the reason that Ryo ignored him and he was bored. Ryo finished at near noon, but no one complained about the style of breakfast food, eggs with rice, when they worked up such an immense appetite.

"At least you didn't put in any vegetables," Bakura commented drying scooping a forkful of yolk-soaked rice.

Ryo saw Bakura consume every grain of rice in a sloppy rush, but decided not to scold; instead, he simply grabbed a napkin and passed it to Bakura once he finished eating. "Clean your face and dish. You're not at home, so don't continue to be a slob."

Marik and Melvin snickered when Bakura bitterly did as he was told, but they continued to eat their own meal when Ryo gave them a stern look. Melvin smirked while eating his rice as Ryo ate as properly as he could with a napkin folded on his lap despite nearly dropping a grain from his conservative, clean forkfuls.

"Housewife," Melvin muttered at Ryo's direction, not trying to be discreet at all.

Ryo shot Melvin an indignant stare, but the crazed blond only laughed harder . "Stop that! I am not funny!" Ryo pressed.

Melvin shook his head and pushed two fingers on Ryo's lips. "You are, though. It's hilarious seeing you so worked up over being called what you are, my little housewife." Melvin scooter his chair closer to Ryo and pressed a firm kiss on the other's lips. Ryo looked a bit surprised, but gave no resistance.

Marik looked positively disgusted, but held his stomach to try to finish eating his meal; he was not about to start another fight so soon over his crazy brother's PDA. Bakura had his back turned to clean his fork and plate, so the grumpy teen missed the heated exchange. When the kiss broke, Ryo flushed and instantly tried to continue eating, only to realize he was full of breakfast and had an appetite for something completely different.

Ryo flushed so much that he barely knew how to properly scold Melvin. The housewife-like teen flicked Melvin on the nose to shoo him away before getting up. "If anyone else is finished, I can carry your plate to the sink and wash it," Ryo offered kindly before shooting Melvin a warning look. "And that's not because I'm a housewife!"

Melvin threw his hands into the air in mock defense with a mischievous smirk. "The thought never crossed my mind."

"You're a housewife, Ryo," Bakura cut in with a stoic expression. "Accept it and finish doing the damn dishes."

Ryo glared pathetically at his brother and Melvin, but followed the order regardless, mumbling something incoherent.

Marik rolled his eyes. Watching the absolutely weird exchange between the males before him almost caused him choke on the last of his meal. Thankfully Marik had finished eating, and he already passed the plate to Ryo.

Melvin stood up from the table and stretched. With a bored expression he turned to Marik and Bakura and asked, "So now what?"

In all honesty no one really planned anything else. Granted, Bakura had every intention to leave since the moment they arrived, but everything interfered with that too spontaneously. Melvin's intentions for the day only went into the specifics of how he would ravage Ryo. Ryo wanted to grow closer to the Egyptian twins and know them better, but every time he and Melvin were alone they normally acted more … physical (the grocery shopping part of the morning actually took thirty minutes in the store, but they took another thirty to make-out in the empty dessert aisle). Lastly, Marik wanted everything to plan itself out and become more controllable, yet the blond knew no one in he small kitchen area could be controlled or understood.

"I don't have anything special in mind," Ryo answered, trying to think of something in particular. "Did you all sleep well?"

Bakura hesitated for a moment, but then snickered and shot a knowing glance at Marik, who in turn shot him the bird. Ryo knew better than to asked, and turned to Melvin for anything interesting.

"Do you speak French, Ryo?" Melvin asked seemingly out of the blue.

Ryo tried to form any reason Melvin wondered such a thing, but decided answering the question was the safest action. "Uh, I took a few years in high school. I'm not exactly fluent, but I know a good bit … Should I even ask why you asked?"

Melvin shrugged. "I dunno. Had a dream you were talking French or some other shit right before I was gonna bang you. Thought it would be hot as fuck if you could actually speak the language."

Ryo's face flushed a ruby color and choked on the dry air. "Wh-what?"

"Yes, 'what' indeed," Bakura growled. "Why the fuck would you have dreams about having sex with my brother?!"

Melvin glared back at Bakura, but then continued his menacing smirk. "The better question is why the hell haven't I had sex with him in reality."

"We've only known each for a little over a day!" Ryo spouted out quickly, flushed.

"And throughout that day you and I have been wanting to fuck each other every time we make eye-contact." Melvin stood and loomed over Ryo, hands on either side of Ryo and face only centimeters apart. "Don't you want to fuck?"

Ryo never had a chance to answer - though he likely would not have, or would have taken a very long time to ease the coursing blood to his cheeks - because Bakura promptly punched Melvin in the jaw, sending the wild-blond staggering away from Ryo.

"Can't you see he's not interested, you bloody pervert?!" Bakura yelled, ready to throw another punch before Melvin kicked him in the gut.

Ryo and Marik stared wide-eyed at the scene, but did not know how to properly refrain the two angry males. At one moment Melvin managed to throw Bakura, who landed on the couch safely enough, and Ryo grabbed Melvin's by the waist. Melvin, whose arm was raised in a fist, calmed almost instantly. Marik, surprisingly, went to Bakura and straddled him as a way to both shield him and restrain him. Unlike Melvin, Bakura only became more livid, but he ceased wildly trying to fight.

"Uh …" Ryo mumbled noticing everyone's position, including his own. "I know you're just going to snap at me, but you have to understand that I am interested in him. I can give myself permission to want him, brother. I've already said it before, but you need to give Melvin and Marik a chance."

"Oh, shut the hell up! I'm so over your infatuation with these idiots. I'm not even going to bother anymore." Bakura's body went limp under Marik. "Ryo, you have the worst taste in people, if you can even call him a person."

Marik glared at Bakura and pulled his jaw so that their eyes connected. The blond then realized he acted on sheer annoyance of the other; he had no idea what to do next. Marik wanted to yell at Bakura, but the words never came. Marik just continued to pin Bakura, which the smaller male definitely hated.

"What are you doing?" Bakura asked, voice even in its rage.

"Trying to figure out how you can be so damn bipolar. Ryo is probably the most reasonable one of us, so let him do as he pleases. Do not make Melvin and me appear like the scum of the earth! You should actually bother trying to get to know us better before you fight and mock us." Marik released Bakura's jaw, but they never broke eye-contact. "You should not leave us so easily, not when we have so much to understand about … about this entire situation."

"I know all I need to know. I'm clearly going insane by being around you two crazies, and Ryo's been reduced to a horny teenager. What more is there to understand?"

"Well, you still don't understand us, asshole," Melvin answered bitterly. "We clearly aren't the bad ones. Just because I want to pound into your brother doesn't mean I would hurt him. I'd actually like to keep his fuckable ass in good condition so I could pound into it whenever I want. You act like you have a rod in your ass all the time."

"Melvin, that really does the opposite of help, especially with such unwanted visuals," Marik growled, massaging his temples with one hand.

"You honestly think he doesn't deserve an ass-kicking, if nothing else than for his vulgarity?" Bakura asked raising a brow at Marik. Marik shrugged and figured that he hit his brother more than a countable amount of times just for spouting stupid obscenities.

Ryo looked at the clock, and released an audible, almost sad chuckle when he noticed the time. "It's 12:14, and all of you have already tried killing each other. I guess this is my new standard of normal." Ryo tugged on Melvin's wrist and began to rush out he door. "We're going out. I don't want to lose my hearing because of all your yelling. We'll be back later. Don't hurt each other too much!"

Melvin had no plans of going back out, but the way Ryo tugged him out the door caused his feet to effortlessly follow. The crazed Egyptian would rather be with Ryo than with their bickering two siblings. Marik still more-or-less pinned Bakura, so Melvin figured that Ryo wanted to go while his brother was incapable of fully stopping them.

Bakura eyed the front door with immeasurable malice, but he remained under Marik. Bakura hated Melvin. Truly, Bakura wanted nothing to maim the filthy blond, but murder was a lot harder to accomplish than thievery.

"Not going to bitch about them?" Marik asked tentatively unpinning Bakura.

"I told you I'm done with those two. Ryo can do whatever the fuck he wants."

"If you are done with me, as well, you can always just leave. Out of pity I might give you a ride to your house."

"Just shut up for awhile, Marik." Marik's eyes actually widened hearing his name from the grouchy teen. "I need time to think. I'm going back to bed," Bakura announced pushing Marik with eyes on Marik's bedroom.

Marik noticed Bakura's plan and replanted himself even more firmly on the pale teen, arms spread. "No way! You will learn nothing by staying my home and merely fuming. Why will you not just calm down for a few damned minutes and talk to me like an adult. You and I are connected, and I know you want to know how as much as I!"

"I clearly can't talk to you, fool. Just looking at you makes me blood boil and rage surge. I hate you. I hate everything about you, and I want to know why without having to actually deal with your stupid self!"

"You know _nothing_ about me! You set aside your anger to speak with me last night, and we actually bonded then – you even protected me. What has changed in the past twelve hours that makes you continue to scream and fight with Melvin and me, and Ryo for that matter."

Bakura glared at the blond but had no answer for several moments. Marik did not demand anything more, but both knew Marik would not let Bakura leave without answering him. When the pale teen finally answered, he turned away and spoke in a huff. "I was clearly just tired and out of my proper state of mind. What other reason could there be?"

"Well, I am sure there is another reason that is also the truth, correct?" Marik challenged his voice calmed and smooth.

"Why do you assume it is a lie?"

"Could you say that looking at me?"

"Obviously!" Bakura snapped. Bakura shot his head up to look at Marik once more, and froze. Marik's eyes shone righteously in their mesmerizing violet supremacy. "Damn it!" Bakura yelled, throwing his head back into the cushions. Bakura could not say the simple words – words that were hardly a lie, but still not the right truth.

Marik's gaze softened and he sighed. "You already told me the most discriminating truth against you last night, so why deny this? I want you to stop treating me like I am a second-class person and explain yourself now."

"Well, sucks for you! I don't have a bloody answer. I don't know why I told you all that shut last night considering how much I hate you. I hate you so much I protected you because no one but me is allowed to hurt you!" Bakura hardly registered his words by that point, and they only spilled more, "You're only mine, and for some goddamned reason you refuse to submit to me. You keep fighting me, and resisting me, and acting like an equal, and it's really bloody confusing considering this has never happened before! You're such a little bitch, too; I can't do anything without your whining at me to the point I have to tell you what you want to know."

Marik stiffened and gasped. The blond was obviously offended by the several insults thrown at him in the angry speech, but he focused more on the shocking kindness Bakura probably did not even know he said. In essence, Bakura told Marik that the only reason he hated him was because he was an equal, and as much as it should not have mattered, Marik's heart swelled with pride and joy. "Bakura," the Egyptian said calmly.

Bakura grunted and turned away. "Get the fuck off me, idiot."

"Not yet. I want to look at you a little more."

"Fuck no! I don't want your perverted eyes staring at my good looks anymore! Off!"

"No! And look at me when I am on you, fool! I want to understand you. Besides, you could have pushed me off from he very beginning. You are the real pervert, liking when I dominate you," Marik subconsciously purred he last part, and his smirk only widened.

Bakura grunted again and crossed his arms as he looked into Marik's eyes once more. "Whatever," the pale teen mumbled. "You're not worth the energy it takes to push your heavy ass off."

"Because you obviously like it when my ass is pinning you down by the crotch," Marik commented nonchalantly.

Bakura raised his eyebrows inquisitorially at Marik before relaxing and using his usual smirk. "If you haven't noticed, I'm definitely placid at the moment. I think you just want to feel like I, being a sex god, want you hide the fact no one would touch you unless beating in that annoying face of yours."

"Oh? Because if there is one place you never hit me, it is my face. I think you fancy my face quite a bit. Your body would betray that lying mouth of yours if I took a moment to work my magic, thief," Marik boasted. Truthfully, Marik was still very much a virgin, but his anger at Bakura caused him to forget that fact.

"I'd like to see you try, bitch," Bakura challenged, putting his hands on Marik's waist to keep the other on him.

"I am sure you would, thief." The smugness never left Marik's voice as he began to begin a light grind against Bakura's crotch.

Both were too stubborn and pig-headed to realize what they were actually doing. Both smirked with an overly inflated pride as Marik continued to move on Bakura, bringing their bodies closer and closer. Marik leaned closer to Bakura to rub at a better angle, which was affecting him just as much as Bakura. Eventually the two began to feel a very light stiffening as their eyelids drooped and mouths hung slightly parted for quick gasps. Too late to stop, Marik just continued to move and lean closer until his and Bakura's flushed face were only few centimeters apart.

On a particularly rough grind, Bakura bucked forward a little too far, and he and Marik connected lip-to-lip. Both males embraced the other and slid their lips together smoothly as their crotches ground roughly. The kiss lasted less than a second because both males pulled away instantly when both realized that that was the last straw to initiate each male's throbbing erection.

[M*S]

"Where are we going?" Melvin asked once he and Ryo were by the stairs of their floor. Something seemed very unusual about the normally docile male leading the way, and Melvin hated being left in the dark. Melvin wanted answers.

What the blond did not expect for an answer was a solid punch to his face that knocked him down and Ryo hovering over him with livid and confused eyes. Ryo made no move to continue his assault, but Melvin already entered battle more and kicked Ryo off his body. Melvin grabbed Ryo and held him by the collar, pressing the smaller boy against the wall roughly, as he prepared to strike the one who instigated the fight. Ryo's gaze flicked at Melvin for only a second, and Melvin's body froze.

"Let me go, Melvin," Ryo commanded calmly, no fear or anger in his tone at all.

"What the hell?! Why should I let you go after a move like that? You know if you were someone else you'd be _dead_ by now? What the fuck, you little punk?" Melvin growled, wondering why he could not pulverize the small creature.

"Because I'm mad at you, of course! You see how upsetting it is to have someone randomly attack you? All you do is fight and make others want to fight you. It's getting really tiresome, Melvin. I really," Ryo took a moment to pause as Melvin subconsciously tightened his grip in anticipation, "I really like you, and I hate myself for it. All you've done is molest me and hurt my brother! You say I should be dead right now for what I did, but if it wasn't me, would you really kill the person? Why not me?"

Melvin glared at Ryo, but said nothing.

"Let me down, Melvin. You can't fight me. You're too used to hurting others, and if you hurt someone I care for I will not hesitate to fight back. I've lived with Bakura my whole life, I can figure out a way to take you down. Randomly hurting people only ripples into the pain of others. Once again, let me down, Melvin."

Finally Melvin did as he was told and released his grip on Ryo. Ryo instantly rubbed his neck to assuage it, and Melvin felt a pang of guilt seeing that. Melvin still raged in his mind, but he could not hurt Ryo, nor did he want to. Ryo made his point, and if the smaller male did not punch Melvin in the face, Melvin likely would have blown the words off. They hardly knew each other, but Ryo already knew how to handle Melvin's hardheadedness and irrationality. Melvin admitted he respected that side of Ryo a lot, and made him want the teen all the more.

"BAMF," Melvin said to no one in particular.

"What?" Ryo asked, looking up at Melvin's mischievous smile.

"I mean that you're not a lame, docile, little housewife anymore. You're now dubbed as a badass motherfucker. Not many would punch me so easily, especially with such a lame reason – your logic is like a mother's." Melvin licked his lips, and his smirk eerily widened. "You're a total MILF, not that I didn't want to fuck you already."

Ryo's eyes grew, and a small blush crept onto his pale cheeks. "I AM NOT A MOTHER!" he yelled, turning in a huff to go down the stairs without Melvin. Melvin cackled when he heard the British teen mumbling vaguely that he wasn't "feminine" and something like "next time I'm punching him harder." Ryo was so cute.

[M*S]

"It is your fault, you know," Marik said calmly while he swept a bit of the kitchen.

"Shut up. That didn't happen," Bakura growled, fuming in Marik's direction with his arms crossed in a huff.

The Egyptian mindlessly continued his sweeping, ignoring Bakura's glare. "Fine. Except it did happen, and it was your fault."

"Did. Not. Happen."

"Did happen. Your fault."

"No, it bloody wasn't!" Bakura finally screamed.

Marik finally met Bakura's gaze with raised brows raised in slight interest. "So now you admit that it at least happened?"

Bakura half-flailed his arms and released an exasperated groan. "I hate you," he seethed with every ounce of malice he could muster.

"I still make you hard. Enough to kiss me, in fact."

"I hate just looking at you!"

"You never once stopped staring, thief. Were those stolen glances you assumed I would not notice? Do you often stare at what you hate?" Marik asked, his voice less and less monotone with each quip.

"You're _insufferable_." Bakura seethed. Marik looked like he blew off the comment and continued his mild cleaning. Bakura hated the way Marik ignored him even more than when Marik needlessly bickered with him. Bakura hated himself for being so affected by it. "Stop ignoring me!

"I am not ignoring you. I decided you are not worth acknowledging. You insist things are my fault or that they did not even happen, so I have no reason to continue treating you like an equal. You should be happy I am leaving you be. I get my Ring if I leave you alone, yes?"

Bakura furrowed his eyebrows and turned away. "Just because I'm annoyed by you doesn't mean I don't see you as an equal. You're the first person I consider at par to me, so stop treating me like I'm not worth your time!"

Marik visibly stiffened and looked at Bakura, really looked at him. Marik normally saw an angry child whenever he glanced at the pale male from the side, and when he straddled the other before he only saw a challenge and annoyance. Marik took a few steps closer to Bakura, and Bakura made no movements against him, even standing so they were better leveled. Marik observed the fierce edge in Bakura's gaze, and finally realized those eyes burned with respect and pride, not merely for himself, but for Marik as well.

"I completely hate you," the British one stated, "But I respect you."

"I hate what you have done," the Egyptian coolly replied, "But I respect what you can do."

"What do you think I can do?" Bakura asked in a low tone, unsure what thoughts spiraled in Marik's mind.

"I think you can do kind things for others. I actually admired how you came and stole from me, like a bleached devil in the night. Regardless, I think you can save me, just like I think I can save you." Marik put the broom down and rested his head on Bakura's shoulder, and surprisingly Bakura let him. "You are a loathsome creature. I want … I want you to tell me the truth, to stop committing so many crimes and being an absolute ass. That is not the real you."

"Then who is the real me?"

[M*S]

_"So you've killed people before?" Namu asked in a whisper._

_"Countless," Akefia replied just as softly._

_"Why?" The question was short and simple, but Namu knew the answer the answer could not come so easily._

_"I can't tell you unless I trust you."_

_"You can't trust me until you tell me."_

_"Because you can't trust me until I tell you?"_

_"No," Namu took a moment to think of how to explain. "I've always, always trusted you, but I would let my curiosity control me until you told me what I want to know, and then I'll think you won't believe in me enough. I'll hate you and spite you slowly but surely."_

_Akefia laughed dryly at the response. "Then go ahead and hate me for awhile. In this case, I'll tell you when you're mature enough to not have your curiosity control you. Besides, I really can't tell you."_

_Namu pursed his lips and held his head in one hand, as if trying to support his heavy thoughts. "This is getting so complicated." Namu sighed. "Will you kill again?"_

_"I'll take countless lives." Akefia did not hesitate to respond._

_"Will they deserve it?" Namu asked in a voice pleading for reason._

_Akefia hesitated a little, and his voice choked a little on the words, "I do it from hate and bitterness of all people. I'll save just as many lives, in a way." Akefia reached out his long, tanned arms and cupped Namu's cheek. A bittersweet smile spread over his face, and the lavender-eyed thief stole a brief kiss from Namu's flush lips. The kiss was consensual and brimming with emotion, yet both quickly pushed away. The physical part of the developing relationship was too inappropriate, too confusing._

_"That isn't the same. Did you protect me when we were younger just as collateral for the lives you've taken? You set aside your hate to talk and helped me so long ago." Namu touched his lips, wanting to experience more from the man before himself, but also wanted the emotional support and understanding of having the almost stranger listen and explain._

_"I respected –still respect– you years ago. You can be my first equal. I can't tell you too about me because you're wise enough to learn how to turn against me, and I hate the feeling of someone having the power to manipulate me." Akefia stole another kiss from Namu's forehead and smiled a bit more sadly._

_"Do you love me?"_

_"Huh?" responded Akefia, at a complete lost for words for once in his life._

_"Please, tell me why you're doing this. I don't know or like that you've killed. I hate that you're doing this, especially without knowing why. If you just … just tell me why, I'm yours. I'll be yours and loyal. Do not treat me like a second-class person! I'm not a worthless slave!"_

_Akefia hardened his gaze. The thief king nodded his head silently, thinking. "I know," he said simply. "I told you why I kill. I do what I must. You would do the same thing."_

_"Akefia, please," Namu reached out his hand and cupped Akefia's cheek, grazing nimble fingers against the flesh._

_"It's The Great Thief King Akefia to you," Akefia ordered, playfully and seriously._

_"Please just stop. The palace has been searching for 'The Great Thief King Akefia' for months. They will catch you. If you don't stop soon, Isis will personally bring me your head on a plate and tell me how wrong I was about you."_

_"Well, you are wrong!" Akefia bellowed. "You try so hard to make me seem like a noble crusader, but I am a ruthless, heartless thief."_

_"And my savior." The word left the room silent for a moment. Namu never thought of Akefia as anything less than his hero, even though he knew full well that the Thief was a villain in the eyes of most. Namu reached for Akefia, and gave the criminal a sad smile. "I love you, my king."_

_"Just stay away from me, Namu. I don't want you to have anything to do with me. I'll give you whatever you want, just never enter my life again. You haunt me every day. I always want you, need you, hate you, love you. I need you to forever leave my life so that I can finish what I started years ago."_

_"All I want is you, fool," Namu murmured, tiptoeing slightly to connect their lips again. "But if I have you now – if you give me yourself for this moment as a trade for your emotional freedom, I'll never stop trying to find you to have more of you. We can enslave each other." Namu brushed light fingers down Akefia's bare chest slowly until he reached the larger male's crotch, and then began to rub._

_"I hate you so damn much!" Akefia exasperated. The thief grabbed Namu's hand and halted his advances. "No, Namu. We can't do this, being together. I know I should not have come at all, but take this message to heart: leave me alone. I want nothing to do with you."_

_Namu pursed his lips tightly then sighed. "I love you. I know you think it's only because you saved me, but it's so much more than that. I care about you, and I know you feel the same for me."_

_"You don't love me, Namu. You can't. So just stop this. Please. As an order from your Thief King."_

_"Fine. I still want you give me what I most desire then. If I cannot have you, I have another request."_

_"Name it and let me be."_

_Namu smiled with hopeless eyes, reaching out to hold his love once more. His mouth opened to speak. _

[M*S]

"No, Ryo!" Melvin growled. "That isn't happening."

"I'm telling you that it will."

"I'm telling you now that it is completely impossible."

"It is not at all impossible since I have a penis." Ryo looked at Melvin sternly. "You know I have one. You know I'm all male. You know I can."

"Yeah, but -"

"No buts. I can do it, so if you want to have sex with me so much, I'm going to dominate you." Ryo sighed and shrugged at his lover. "I can't comprehend what's so wrong with letting me top."

"Housewives don't top!" Melvin yelled back. Every sexual fantasy he ever had about anyone was slowly crumbling as Ryo insisted on dominating.

"Whatever. We can discuss this more later. We're almost back at your apartment."

"What do we even tell them when we get inside?"

"That we went to a park so that you could have fun scaring small children." Ryo looked at Melvin warily. "No, we're not actually going to do that, so don't ask!"

"You're such a bossy housewife…" Melvin trailed off when Ryo shot him another warning glare. The blond smirked and pulled Ryo's body close to his own, "Are you sure you want to go back so soon, wife?"

"Positive. They can probably already here us from inside the room," Ryo observed as he stood a few feet away from Melvin's apartment. "I took your key when had my hand sin you pants left, so I'm going in, even if you don't want to join me."

Melvin grunted a little and shrugged. "I always want to _join_ you, wife."

Ryo smirked as he put the key in the door. "'Always' means you'd like to join me even if I dominate." Before Melvin could retaliate, Ryo opened the apartment door. Both Ryo and Melvin stood shocked at the scene before them.

* * *

So, guys, **WOULDN'T IT BE REALLY FUNNY IF ALL THOSE SCENES WITH NAMU AND AKEFIA ARE ACTUALLY FLASH FORWARDS WHILE RYO-BAKURA/MARIK-MELVIN ARE THE PAST SELVES?**

I'll just leave that little teaser to your imagination. No quiz.


	9. The You

So on the positive side, I posted this before June; on the positive-negative side, it's a bit overly long; on the negative-positive side I guess I won't continue naming the chapters like I have/I won't continue the epigraphs (I didn't know/don't think they added to the story for you guys much); on the negative side, I don't think I got my IB diploma, and the college I'll attend is easier than my high school with absolutely no prestige attached to the point I feel like I wasted four hard years of my life.

Also, the end of the first scene features Marik rather un-Marik-y, but remember that sometimes he isn't QUITE Marik. I do this as a warning because I LIVE for being as IC as I can be within reason, so no one fault me.

ALSO, I think some of you all really love to challenge me. Whenever I read a review or note that someone "just always loves what I write," I have this sort of "challenge accepted" look on my face and think of all kinds of horrors. Like, I wonder how many followers and fans I'd have if I wrote a really bad high school AU/Genderbent/Mpreg/rape/guro-vore/OOC/bad-OC/self -insert/Grammar hell/unreasonable crossover/etc type of fic.

Then I remember I'd kill myself before writing that, and I'd probably kill anyone who actually read it. C'mon, guys. You read from ME; you have to have higher standards than that!

Also, the lovely miss Jem Kallop looked this over before I posted it. I literally I'm just going to trust her, and if there is a mistake, she should have caught it. (I love ya, Jemmy!)

* * *

Marik sat firmly and quietly on one of Bakura and Ryo's hard kitchen chairs. The Egyptian made no complaints as he waited for his companion, Bakura, though he grew increasingly bored and agitated. Marik wanted nothing more to do with the thief, yet mostly occupied himself just by admiring the small apartment's quaintness and persona. Oddly enough the home's style looked liked neither Ryo's nor Bakura's taste. The place was possibly too small to make personal. The only furniture was the kitchen table and chairs, a small two-person couch, a TV with a TV set, and a lamp on a scratched-up wooden desk. The living area's faded red floor rug began to lift and wrinkle, and the tile in the kitchen looked old and cracked. Overall, the kitchen remained almost modern with a cleaned stainless steel fridge and microwave, but nothing else in the home had a sense of newness.

Bills and receipts lay on the kitchen table where Marik sat, and after so many minutes of tedious waiting and observing, Marik could no longer resist peeping at the two brothers' expenses. A bronze hand reached out to grab whatever was closest, and Marik scanned it. The bill was under Ryo's name, and apparently he was a month behind on a 121.57 dollar utilities bill. Soon enough Marik realized how bored he could become even being nosy. Bakura left Marik alone for far too long, and the blond has never been known for his patience.

Marik only followed Bakura to his home to retrieve his item. The older male insisted he knew exactly where it was and that he would return it quickly. Bakura locked himself in his room and insisted he look alone. After five minutes had passed, Marik had offered to help look through everything, but he was replied with an angry grunt of rejection. Fifteen minutes had passed, and Marik still waited in the kitchen, bored and agitated.

Marik finally decided to stand and barge into the room, until he felt pain in a leg and sat back down. Before the two decided to go to Bakura and Ryo's home, they began another nasty fight. Both had lain panting, but each knew that their mindless quarrelling needed to cease. Marik could not even remember why the two had fought again, and he actually regretted continuously arguing with the thief. After the small romping on the couch, Marik realized that, physically, Bakura was attractive, but not if Marik kept leaving bruises and cuts on the once perfectly porcelain skin. Marik took pride in his appearance, but he could hardly tell his skin used to be a beautiful bronze with nasty swelling and cuts marking his body.

Marik knew he had a short fuse, knew Bakura purposely annoyed him, knew the thief wronged him, knew the pale teen hurt him in those long fights, knew he hated the thief for what he had done, but Marik never truly fought Bakura for any of those reasons. Every time their eyes met, when their souls clashed, Marik's heart fell a little harder. Marik never felt such sorrow in all his life, his abusive and unfortunate life. While Marik had always been raised in less-than-loving conditions, he never felt sad about his circumstances. Marik experienced bitterness, rage, and envy of all those who could laugh even once without being scorned, yet never felt such a true and genuine sorrow. Marik fought Bakura so often because Bakura gave Marik an emotion even worse than those he had felt. Marik knew the life he so desperately sought since leaving his home country was shattering, and Marik wanted revenge on Bakura for ruining his small peace.

Yet Marik still stood in the pathetic home, reflecting on the small time he had spent with the thief. Marik loathed feeling the sadness from looking at Bakura, wanted the thief to simply rot for his inference, yet Marik also dreaded the fact that even a small door separated them. Bakura interacted with Marik easily, made everything seem liked a natural stream of events despite their unusual circumstances, created emotions in the heart Marik already assumed was dead - ones of security and openness, and most importantly always fought back without really going too far. Bakura stayed even though he kept ranting his disapproval. Bakura planned to return his item, something precious and that could easily afford two houses for both Ryo and himself. Bakura deserved to be hated by Marik -and Marik did certainly hate him- but Marik seemed to hate him for the wrong reasons.

Marik rested his leg a moment longer before getting up once more. Marik stretched to pop it in its place, which relieved much stress, and walked around. Bakura told him to stay put, but the thief took far too long. Marik eyed the kitchen for anything interesting, and noticed a note on the counter between some pots. The penmanship looked too clean to be Bakura's, and Marik did not really want to involve himself in Ryo's business, but, well, he was bored.

Marik imagined the twins would be too unsocial to have many friends, and the apartment clearly only homed the two, so Marik assumed the letter could be distant family. When he skimmed it over and saw the word sister, Marik figured he was right. Since it was not a love letter or anything, Marik decided to ease his curiosity and read the note.

_Hey, Amane,_

_Bakura is an idiot. He really is. I know I wrote last time that he was caught stealing, but now we know his sentence. He's so lucky about his punishment, but I think he's out stealing again. I heard him sneak out, and I checked his room to find it empty. He's really angry about being caught, but I can't stand the idea of him leaving again. I know something is going to happen tonight. I know you must think I'm crazy, but I know._

_Something is off about tonight. Bakura is a great thief, so I should never be able to tell when he sneaks away. I want to say it's because I was actually awake, but even despite that he was loud enough to hear. I really have a bad feeling about this, sis. The main reason I was awake was because I had a bad dream, too._

_I don't know why, but I just kept seeing these shadows, just the two of them. They didn't talk, but they kept pushing gold at me, and shoving it my way, and I couldn't even carry it all. Gold is naturally heavy, I guess, but it was different. The shadows - whom I could just tell were smiling cruelly - kept pushing me with the gold after I told them to stop crushing me with it all, like it was weighing down the entire world on me._

_I know you never understood greed very well, Ame, but there's something wrong with gold. Bakura should not be going out tonight, I know it. It's so heavy. It's such a heavy burden to carry when stealing, and that is just … He's going to get caught. I know he doesn't normally steal for selfish reason, I know, but tonight is different. He's not doing it to make some money for us, so he's just being stupid. He's stupid for trying to make money that way, but I know he's doing the best he can for us, for me._

_Just not now. Not tonight. I know I should have stopped him, but a part of me …_

_Ame, please look over him. He's doing something bad, but somehow this could be a blessing in disguise. The shadows know, and they told me so. The shadows looked cruel, but they still understand and give a sort of wealth. Whatever happens, please help it be for the best._

_Sorry for not writing in awhile. Bakura may be coming back in, and he sounds really disgruntled. Gotta stop and hide this before he sees me!_

_Please watch over him,_

_Ryo._

Marik furrowed his brows in confusion after reading the note. The blond folded it like it was originally and put it in its original spot. Marik's heart almost softened for Bakura when he realized that the thief stole for his brother, but the fact that he stole from Marik simply from bitterness brought Marik's respect back down. Still, Marik noticed the eerily prophetic dream Ryo recalled, and wondered what else the dream tried to tell the boy. A part of Marik wondered a bit about Amane, but his distraction ended, and the note reminded him that Bakura took his gold.

Marik finally decided to ignore Bakura's request, and barged into the young thief's room. Marik's eyes widened, and he rushed inside. Bakura, with the ancient golden ring around his neck, lay unconscious on the floor, a position that no one would be in if they were purposefully sleeping. His tongue fell from his open mouth, and his white skin seemed to pale even further from a lack of blood flow. Marik touched Bakura's cold skin, a pulse present but faint, and assumed Bakura fell ill the moment he walked in the door.

The pain at seeing Bakura lying unmoving and so unlike his snappy self knocked the wind from Marik's lungs. Marik tried to remain calm, but the sight of his companion in a comatose state unnerved him, causing him to hyperventilate. Marik started gasping hard and reaching for Bakura, clutching the still body. The blond took deep, long breaths whenever he could rationalize that he needed to calm down, but seeing Bakura in such a state reminded him of the darkness in his childhood, as well as another past that he actually failed to recall.

Marik knew he needed to compose himself, but his head pounded with painful memories and his heart swelled with a sadness that he had never felt before. The worst part of the situation was that Marik simply could not understand why he reacted so strongly when the man he claimed to hate looked dead on the carpet. Something gnawed at Marik's heart, guilt and pain, but why he had to sense them so deeply unnerved the blond even more. Marik reached for Bakura without looking, straining his uncontrollable body, and grasped the ring lying on Bakura's heart.

Within moments Marik lay unconscious as well.

[M*S]

_Isis eyed her brother warily when she caught him sighing for the fourth time within the hour. As poor runaways, the older sibling knew life constantly avoiding the outside world and people was difficult for anyone, but Namu never fussed over leaving as much as he had recently. The marketplace contained so many people and countless chances of being taken away and sold into slavery, but Isis took their chances at the marketplace over certain death in the desert when she sent Namu. After the rare experience, Namu held more hope than ever in his eyes, but also a bitter sadness._

_"A sandstorm is brewing near us," Namu commented nonchalantly as he gazed out of their small hut in the open desert. After Namu's encounter with Akefia, he and Isis finally had enough energy to wander the brutal sands longer to find an actual place to protect them from the blazing sun. Shelter, though indirect, was another gift to add to Namu's ever-growing list of debts to the supposed heartless thief._

_"You should close the window then." Isis watched Namu's hesitant hands lethargically close the small entrance as the storm approach and sighed. "When the storm passes, would you like to go into town?"_

_Namu turned on his heels quickly and nodded furiously. "Wh-why the sudden desire to go?" Namu asked trying to not seem so eager and question Isis._

_Isis smiled softly. The mature sister stood and kissed Namu on the forehead, wiping away some of the sweat and sand there. "My heart is not the one changing, brother. Never have you asked for anything but measly portions of bread when we can get it, but you want to go. I know your heart desires it. All I wish to know is why," Isis explained gently despite her strong intuition knowing already._

_Namu sighed again and looked at the closed window, hoping the storm would pass quickly. "You are not to know, sister."_

_[*]_

_Though highly beautiful beyond her lowly status, Isis walked into the marketplace wearing a full body covering as she scouted the area. No one of certain authority ventured through the bazaar, and Isis motioned for Namu to follow. The boy worried about someone recognizing him from his last visit, but he realized that after so many days, every face blended together. Besides, Akefia returned his money, so when Isis was not looking, Namu could buy something nice for the two._

_Namu assumed he would buy her a watermelon as a special treat, but after passing through the vendors, Namu saw Isis stare at a trinket stand for more than two seconds. Considering how low maintenance Isis learnt to live, knowing that something caught her eye at all proved she wanted it. Isis continued walking aimlessly afterward, but Namu held her hand and firmly stopped._

_"Namu? What is it, brother?"_

_"You! We are here, and all you have done is walk around aimlessly. Let us actually look at the items here, sister Isis! Come," Namu ordered walking to the trinkets._

_"Brother, we mustn't! We have no place looking at fine items like that. Please, let us find a fruit vendor and leave. We came so that you could relax and feel more social, not to buy anything in particular!" Isis, despite her protest, found her feet following Namu's steps and walking to the vendor that caught her eye before._

_"Oh? Not buy anything in particular, miss?" an elderly woman repeated, surveying Isis with a keen smile. "Not so, my dear. Why, you remind me of my own daughter before she got hit by that small plague years ago. Except you have the most beautiful sky eyes, and your brother such sweet sand-colored eyes."_

_"Thank you, madam," Namu peeped with a sense of both pride and embarrassment. "I, uh, just wanted my sister to look around. Would you mind if she tried on some of your items? We can't buy any, but we've never been able to be around such beautiful trinkets before."_

_"Son, of course she may!" The woman beamed as she urged Isis and Namu closer. "I have plenty for you, sweetie. You both have such great eyes. I can see a very long and important destiny for each of you. Give an old woman the small pleasure of helping such spectacular youth!"_

_"Miss, we really ought not. I am sorry for wasting your time, but surely you should spend your time on people interested in buying."_

_"Not true! Most of my items are worth a fortune, and I'm located in the poorest bazaar within all the land where the sun shines! I set this stand up as a hobby. Most of the time thieves strike when I'm not looking anyway, or the poor just ignore me. You two are the first to stop by my stand honestly in years!"_

_Isis pursed her lips, but eventually succumbed to the pressing request. The old woman beckoned her behind her stand, closing the fabric curtain so Isis could change in private, and Namu stood waiting outside the stand, wondering why he could not join his sister. Even though the market held fascinating places, he did not want to stray from his sister. Namu fooled himself into thinking a visit to the marketplace would bring a special adventure. The young boy smiled when he remembered his last encounter with someone his age, and wondered if anyone else would talk to him._

_Sadly, Namu knew even the poorest of marketplace dwellers would not waste time on riffraff. In comparison to someone like Namu who looked battered and worthless without actually working an honest position in the workforce, even slaves were regarded more kindly because they actually served an important part in society. Other than Isis, no one would mind if Namu died, and that thought sat far too heavily in the heart of the young child._

_Namu sighed, wondering why Isis took so long to try on the various trinkets, but waited alone yet. Gazing longingly at the citizens walking by him, Namu finally sat down and leaned on the board of the trinket sign. Soon, before he even noticed, his eyes and mouth were covered, and someone from behind was ushering him to his feet._

_"Miss me?" a familiar voice chuckled as the hands roughly spun Namu around, detaching themselves from his eyes._

_"Yes," Namu whispered almost dreamily with his voice airy and disbelieving. The boy before Namu had smeared ink across his entire right side, and dirt mixed as solid into his hair as to make it appear as one solid mass. The boy wore tattered clothes, like the clothes of a slave, and walked on bare, black-bottomed soles. Regardless, Namu knew those hard amethyst eyes. "Akef-"_

_"Not my name!" Akefia scolded in a harsh but hushed tone. "Never my name. Not without 'Thief King' attached."_

_"But then what do I call you?" Namu asked innocently. "I've been wanting to see you for so long. I need to thank you properly!"_

_Akefia smirked and shook his head. "Even if we look like scum of the streets, people are questioning us. We deserve no gratitude, in their opinion. We should talk in private." Akefia quickly glanced around the street, but Namu grabbed his face and forced the thief to keep eye contact._

_"I can't leave now. I'm with my sister." Namu pursed his lips and eyed the thief longingly. "Please, stay with me. We can laugh, and play, and live, and help each other. We can be friends. My sister and I struggle, but we can always extend a hand to the person who saved our lives!" Namu's normally soft honey eyes raged with determination and hope, ordering Akefia to agree to a futile request._

_Akefia disregarded Namu's request and turned his side to the boy as he sat on the hot street sands. "I am not your savior, nor will I ever be your friend."_

_"Then why have you come to see me? Is it time for you to collect your due?"_

_"No." Akefia sighed to himself and took a small breath. "I just wanted to make sure you were really here. I mean, you are an idiot, so I need to make sure you survive long enough that you serve me at some point or another. I can't believe you're stupid enough to even come into the marketplace so soon after that horrific event last time. At least try to look unrecognizable!" Akefia scolded as passionately as he could while still keeping his voice down. The thief gestured to his current appearance, and Namu realized why Akefia looked so covered._

_"So if you're all disguised, does that mean the great thief king was caught? Do you hide in fear?" Namu asked jokingly as he decided to sit near the thief._

_"Of course not! This is my disguise to thieve whenever I want the rumors to stray away from my true appearance." Akefia glared at Namu, but the corners of his lips flicked upwards in a real smile._

_"You're amazing then. You have so much experience doing things like this. I almost lost my arm just for a rotten apple." Namu sighed in awe, looking up at the sky. "It would have been easier if you let me die then. Isis would die as consequence, but that may have been better than owing my salvation to some kid thief."_

_Akefia growled. "Take that back, brat!" The thief ordered grabbing Namu and shaking him roughly._

_Namu pushed Akefia away with a hard shove, but Akefia only pushed back. In turn the two began a pushing contest, both smiling and laughing with each playful shove. Namu went in for another push, but jumped to his feet after hearing a voice shout his name from behind._

_Namu turned to face an unusually angry Isis. The brunet gulped and questioned the beautiful woman before him. Instead of rags, Isis wore a gown fit for the royals, with colors of myth like deep blue and emerald green adorning the fine silken fabrics with gems and embroidery of rare dyes. Her gown, for all its heavy decorations, actually did fit her gentle hourglass frame. Isis wore a clean white covering that had golden trim_ _and a head covering specially cut to be shaped like a fierce bird, golden trim for the beak. Best yet was the fact Isis' youthful and hardened face actually glowed from the small wash the old woman gave her behind the stall, and the cleanliness alone set her apart from the entire plaza of people. The last part of her transformation involved a renewed kohl tracing neither had gotten for several years, almost promising that Isis' grand and intuitive sight would be protected by the gods._

_"Isis, you look like royalty," Namu dumbly said, awestruck._

_Isis' hard gaze never faltered as she inspected Akefia. "No time for flattery, Namu. Who is this boy?" Isis' tone was cool and collected, but worry and pity stirred in her stomach the longer she looked at the dirty boy's visage._

_"I'm leaving," Akefia quickly replied. "We shall see each other soon, Namu," The thief stated while looking solely at Namu with a mixture between need and authority in his eyes. Isis reached out to grab Akefia's arm, but he disregarded her easily. "You should be ashamed of yourself for looking like one of those palace scum," The thief commented darkly._

_Akefia turned on his heels and sprinted faster than Namu or Isis could even blink. If the two siblings had not been watching Akefia before he escaped, they would never have noticed him at all. The way his dirtied body glided cleanly through the streets awed Namu, who noticed every flex and twisted position the thief morphed into to maneuver between the small nooks hidden in the market streets. Stands stood with_ _ample room between, and people walked among all spaces, yet Akefia continued to move seamlessly. Akefia's hurried movements created an irregular type of dance that fitted the light music in the air played by various of the street performers. What could be seen enchanted everyone so well with its keen movement pattern, they had no time to register at all that Akefia really ran by at all versus just being a mirage caused by the blazing sun on the bustling streets. All especially could not notice that Akefia pocketed some of their money as he flitted away._

_Namu instantly understood why Akefia boasted that he would become the 'Thief King' of the ages. In all honesty Namu would call the child the master of thieves already. In his improved comprehension of how one acted as a great thief, Namu's heart swelled and beat a little faster in admiration. Thievery would cause heartache, he knew, with punishments no less than limbs being painfully hacked off, but then the riches and freedom almost seemed to outweigh those consequences. Releasing another sigh of admiration, Namu turned back to Isis._

_"Aren't you going to take those clothes off? I think people will get angry if you fool them into thinking you're someone special," Namu explained._

_"Everyone is special, Namu. The kind vendor has given me all this. She would not explain why in words, but I know she expects these clothes to change our situation in a very big way. Somehow this makes me appear a little bit … more special." Isis closed_ _her eyes and sat by Namu, ignoring the odd stares as usual._

_Namu never understood as much as Isis did, but he knew that his sister knew more than she would say. The young boy held his sister's glorified face and examined her with the curiosity that only a child could possess. Isis looked more than special, remarkable even, but that only reflected on the outside how Namu always saw her on the inside. The idea of mere clothes changing anything baffled the younger sibling, yet he accepted that if Isis predicted internally that, in essence, the sands in an hourglass would fall the other way, the only truth would be such._

_Isis swatted Namu's prying hands away from her face, and she gave him a small, gentle smile, a smile that pierced through his unasked questions and curiosity. "Everyone is special," Isis stated again with an unexpected gravity to her tone, "Do remember that special does not always mean good. That boy … is special beyond belief. I want you to cease any contact with him. That is an order, brother." Isis grabbed Namu's shoulders and met his defiant and hurt gaze. Though she desperately hated that expression, Isis had no intention of backing down._

_"An order I am in no control to follow, sister."_

_Isis still held onto Namu, yet she knew that where he stood on the matter could not be changed. Honey drops grew as black pupils narrowed in unleashed rage. The two exchanged no more words, quieted by their mutual disagreement. A forceful wind blew_ _and sprinkled sparse specks of sand into their open eyes, promptly separating the siblings who needed to rid of the annoying grains._

_With the wind came a wave of palace riders. The camels and horses rushed directly to Namu and Isis in an unstoppable stampede. Any attempt at halting the moving creatures would have been laughable, as they crashed directly into the small shop of trinkets Isis visited prior, squashing the feeble structure in its entirety._

_Wooden pillars tumbled on the siblings, but Isis' instincts reacted quickly and she grabbed a loose pillar in an angle over her and Namu to hinder the other falling beams. The camels in the back stopped well enough and did not cause more damage, but the few in the front caused more than enough damage. Items of every kind littered the hard dirt street, and many crude individuals ran off quickly after taking at least one. The thievery held little consequences because the kind owner's blood leaked into the ground quickly under the rubble, signifying her quick death. The rider of the first camel had fallen, but he died by the other creatures stomping on his prostrate body._

_Unlike the first camel's rider, another man had fallen off after the crash, and lay on top of the shop's debris. Isis strained her arm, but her plan worked as much of the worst debris bounced or fell away from her and Namu. The wise sister discarded the beam quickly and assessed her surroundings. Once Isis noted that Namu remained completely unharmed, she headed to the person lying on the old shop; he looked wounded, but not in the way that signified helping him would be a fruitless effort. The man wore royal blue clothes adorned with gold, and Isis assumed the gold likely acted as a small shield from any of the major damage._

_The man did not whimper in pain, but his wounds were clear, and Isis approached him purposefully. At the moment she stepped less than a foot away from the royal, a pointed spear dived only an inch from her throat_.

_"Halt! No one may touch the High Priest Set!" a guard shouted._

_"I do not need to touch him. I only wish to observe. His neck is obviously hurt, but not shattered or broken. Someone who knows pressure points in the body should handle him very soon." Isis gave the man another once-over. "He will definitely survive," Isis commented while she also observed the lessening blood soaking into the sand. The old woman and Isis never even exchanged names, but oddly enough Isis still felt an undesired loss. She was a nameless merchant, yet worth more to Isis than the royal Priest Set who remained relatively unharmed._

_Namu regarded the situation with even colder and duller eyes than Isis. The boy's heart dropped upon seeing the accident, knowing he could just as easily have been crushed and killed, and not one of the palace guards would even bat an eye. The old woman never deserved her death, but she was treated as a fly on the wall, and even the one crushed by the horses merited no attention. If only ever so slightly, Namu experienced his first taste of the true nature of the royals, realizing why Akefia scorned them so deeply._

_"Your words have been regarded, miss!" Another guard shouted, giving Isis a small bow. "We shall take Priest Set away immediately. You are ordered to join us in case we need the words of a mystic," The guard commanded as two guards carried Isis to the riderless camel_.

"_Hey, what are you doing! Give her back!" Namu order as he ran to Isis before a guard stopped him in his place._

_"Halt! We shall not let a mighty mystic be tainted by riffraff. Be grateful she saved you from the falling rubble. From her elegant form and wisdom, she is clearly above you."_

_"He is my brother, and will come with us," Isis nearly spat, unlike her usually calm demeanor. "Allow him to ride with me, or I shall not permit you to use my services." Isis' tone spoke so firmly and absolutely that no one could argue, especially because they still needed to help Priest Set quickly._

_Namu was unwillingly hoisted up to ride with his sister, and he hated every moment of it. Isis apologized with her rueful eyes, but Namu knew she would not ignore the chance to be treated well and possibly to gain a real meal. The betrayal stung, but Namu silenced himself, if for nothing else than to finally see Isis treated like a worthy noble. The charade would likely not last long anyway, but Namu had first hand experience of just how fickle the palace kind were, and he steeled his nerves for anything._

_In that moment, Namu decided he would never let anything happen to those he loved, especially Akefia. Isis loved and provided for Namu much like a mother, to which Namu could never vocalize his proper gratitude, but knew Isis would live well or better without Namu. Akefia was different, noble though a criminal. Despite everything the thief could do, some things in life were hard to avoid, and Namu knew Akefia thought too highly of himself to prepare for those unexpected hindrances. Namu would not let anything happen to the thief, not ever._

_Namu promised himself that he would not let Akefia fall, or that he would fall himself._

[M*S]

Ryo entered the apartment slowly, observing every little detail. As a whole, not much was broken and destroyed, but the mess still remained. The couch had a few tears, and a glass or two shattered on the kitchen tile. Other non-breakable items scattered across the floor and tables in disarray, but at least with a little organizing those would be alright. Melvin followed inside with inflamed eyes. Ryo turned to his lover and grasped his hand calmly.

"I-I'm sure there's a reason for this. They probably got into a big fight," Ryo noted as he surveyed a bit more.

"This isn't even a fight scene! It looks like they tried to kill each other, and it's pissing me off that I don't see any corpses!" Melvin punched a spot in the wall that already had a dent, causing a large hole. The hole fumed Melvin's rage all the more.

Ryo sighed at Melvin's behavior. While he understood that the destruction to his home was uncalled for, Ryo wished Melvin understood that his anger only made things worse. Feeling gutsy, Ryo made another approach to the livid blond, stood on the pad of his foot, wrapped his arms tightly against Melvin's rigid body, and kissed him softly on the mouth. Luckily the kiss assuaged Melvin's hot fury, but all those pent up emotions were released on Ryo as the kiss heated.

Melvin pressed their bodies closer, pressing his hands on Ryo's back. Ryo did not try to leave or stop at first, but when air became a need, both understood and parted for some shallow gasping. Neither really moved from the close position, but a small blush did grace Ryo's cheeks. "This is kind of inappropriate. We should tidy the place up a bit."

Melvin scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Those bastards ruined it, so they should clean it."

Ryo inwardly smirked, but kept his outward expression clean and innocent. "If the place remains so scattered, it would make doing certain … activities difficult and uncomfortable," Ryo explained smoothly as he traced two fingers down Melvin's form. Ryo's eyes bore straight into Melvin's soul, and as unnerving as the concept was, Melvin did not mind surrendering to the little manipulator in his arms.

"I'd rather just do those 'activities' on the wall then. No cleaning needed, and I'd certainly 'support' you so that you won't be too uncomfortable." Melvin waggled his eyebrows, but Ryo rolled his eyes.

"That could only work well if you were the one penetrating. You and I both know that will not be the case," Ryo replied simply before slipping effortlessly from Melvin's grip. The shorter male carefully walked into the kitchen and beckoned Melvin to follow, which the blond did.

"Well?" Melvin asked irritably.

"Where is the broom or other cleaning items? Despite your complaints, we should clean the mess up."

Melvin glared at the other male before turning around and grabbing a broom from the kitchen closet behind Ryo. "Here," Melvin mumbled.

"Thanks," Ryo said with a smile, kissing Melvin on the cheek. "But I didn't stutter when I said _we _should clean this mess." Ryo noticed Melvin glare again, but held the other to assuage his temper. "We can make it a game."

"A game?" Melvin questioned. The blond's eyes drooped a little as though he were bored of the idea already, but Melvin honestly loved games, or rather, loved winning them.

"Well, yes and no." Ryo sucked on his lower lip before continuing. Ryo enjoyed the idea of just being around Melvin, and he had learned much about the other in the time they had shared, but he was not satisfied. Ryo knew so little of Melvin, and the thought almost frightened him when he recalled all that they had already done and wanted to do. "How about we just ask each other questions back and forth. Whoever refuses to answer one first is the loser."

Melvin rolled his eyes, but suddenly understood how to make Ryo's pathetic excuse for a game fun. "Will there be a prize for the winner?"

"Naturally," Ryo answered with a knowing glint in his eyes.

"Can I go first?"

"Sure, but you better get in the living room and start organizing." Ryo quite literally pushed Melvin out of the kitchen into the supposed living area. Melvin grumbled, but started to collect the torn sofa cushions and clean the room in general.

"I'm going first, so I have to ask, why the hell do you want to top me?"

"Because all things considered, the idea of taking you down seems so … natural. I never even kissed anyone on the lips before I met you, and I barely know you. I feel so comfortable with you, like I'm naturally supposed to control and be controlled by you. That, and it's completely fair of me to ask!" Ryo said the last part in a huff, almost losing his grip on the broom as he swept because he could not control his emotions very well. "Anyway, uh, what stopped you from completely beating me up at the library yesterday?"

"Honestly, you made me so hard when you got on your knees, touching me, that if I didn't leave I'd have fucked you right there." Melvin finished placing the last cushion in the right spot on the rickety sofa, and decided to rest on the freshly made area. Ryo cleaned well enough, so Melvin figured that the smaller male could finish the rest. "Anyway, why is your hair so damn long?"

"It's not as long as Bakura's! My hair just … I don't want to cut it. My sister always liked it long, so I do it in her memory. I'll … cut it one day, but not yet." Ryo mindlessly swept the same spot in the kitchen twice, becoming so lost in thought that he barely registered even his own response. Ryo vaguely recalled that he needed to ask a question, and snapped from his daze. "Do you hate your brother?"

"With every pulsing vein in me. It's his fault. Everything is his fault." Melvin sighed and closed his eyes. The blond swayed his long arm over the edge of the sofa, and suddenly touched a sheet a paper. Pulling the paper to his face, he read the note that was not written by Marik with a sneer. "Our asshole brothers left a note. They're at your place. Doesn't say when they'll be back."

"Huh? I hope they don't tear apart our place like here. Not that we have much anyway," Ryo commented lowly as he picked up the larger pieces of glass that were too heavy for the dustpan to hold. "Don't you owe me a question?"

"Huh? Yeah. Uh, do you hate your brother?" Melvin asked almost nonchalantly, honestly growing bored of their game.

"Not entirely. Bakura's both the reason for all of my grief, and many of my joys," Ryo noted with a distant smile. His feet started to move before he really realized, and suddenly Ryo found himself lying atop of Melvin, content not to clean for awhile. "His stupidity helped me meet you, after all."

Melvin began running his hands with ease over Ryo's body, touching the long white hair as well. Melvin secretly adored Ryo's hair, and liked the length greatly. On one hand it was not cliche "silky smooth and soft," but on the other hand it was strong and able to be gripped in the throes of passion without damage. Ryo was much like his hair: clean and pure, but still with more than a few hard knots and difficult to completely manage. Ryo did not falter under Melvin's touch from fear or panic, but merely let things happen and flow through him, even if it caused a small tangle or made things a little dirty. In the end, Ryo always turned back to white and fixed the little knots and tears in his life, and Melvin understood that to be truly tremendous. Melvin never realized how much he could want to just hold someone, but Ryo made it seem so natural, and that pressed the most important question of all: "Seriously, why haven't we had sex already? I know you want to, creampuff. It's only natural that we do!"

Ryo released a hearty laugh at Melvin's expense. The blond sounded so offended and distressed, that Ryo could only cackle at the insultes tone. Melvin could feel the ripples of laughter on his own body as Ryo lay on top of him, and the blond almost would have laughed too until he remembered the agreement.

"You better answer me or I win!"

"Y-yeah, yeah," Ryo responded, still with a smile in his voice. "Other than the fact that I want to top, I'm entirely uncomfortable with sleeping with someone I hardly know. Even though I'm comfortable around you, and it seems natural to have sex with you, I can't help but remember how distant we really are."

"Oh," Melvin said simply. "So after this game, if you know me better, you'll have sex with me?"

"You can't ask two questions in a row, Melvin. That's cheating. As penalty, I ask two and don't answer that one." Ryo smirked and tried to think of an important question. "So … why, uh, _Melvin_? Marik has an exotic name, but then you have Melvin, and it's kind of, uh, unexpected."

Ryo could feel Melvin tense. The blond stopped moving his hands over Ryo, actually stopped moving in general, and his beautiful violet eyes were hidden behind bronze lids. The blond was fully aware that he needed to answer the question or lose the game, but Ryo never said he had to answer honestly. Melvin tried to think of a reason other the truth, but when he opened his eyes and gazed at Ryo's curious brown orbs, his mouth shut. Before he could stop himself, his lips began to shape the words of the truth, and knowing that he was telling Ryo everything, Melvin did not entirely mind.

"It isn't my real name. I chose it on the boat ride to this country. I was smuggled in. My sister, well, the woman who shares my blood, only got passports for Marik. I was livid, so livid, that when we, Marik and me because Ishizu lived in America, still lives in Egypt, I lashed out at Marik. He was the favorite and perfect son. He's the firstborn, the pampered little prince in the tomb we called home. I was so mad that no one bothered to try and take me with them legally, that I stayed in the darkness of our home, pretending like I ran away.

"No one cared really that I supposedly left. I heard that Marik was upset if only even barely, but he still continued to pack his bags in preparation of leaving that hellhole. Eventually, I managed to sneak into Marik's larger bags, hiding in the darkness, and snuck aboard. Marik pretended to be happy to see me when I revealed myself halfway through the sea journey, but he hates me. He blames me for things I couldn't control. He told me I better create a name for myself if I intended to stay in America with him, but I wasn't very good at English and idioms, so I took it literally. One of the people inside the room on the ship was named Melvin, so I took it. It was the only name that didn't seem Egyptian, so I thought it would help me to fit in better. I know it isn't completely relevant to the first question, but I figured that the sooner you learn about me the sooner you'll let me fuck you, right?"

Ryo had remained silent for the duration of Melvin's story, but slightly punched the larger male for the comment at the end. Ryo should have known Melvin would not have revealed such a personal story so selflessly, yet the white-haired male could not help but feel slightly giddy to know that much more about his supposed lover.

"I have another question left that relates to that," Ryo said sweetly, still happy with the last answer. Melvin scoffed because he felt slightly cheated out of a question, but let it go and allowed Ryo to ask his question. "What is your real name?"

"Kek," Melvin gave no hesitation. The single syllable almost sounded foreign even on his own lips, though he honestly did try to forget it.

"Kek," Ryo said to himself. "Kek. Kek, Kek, Kek," He repeated, enjoying how it rolled from his tongue, really tasting the feeling of saying it. "Kekekekekek!" Ryo said even louder, almost as an awkward chuckle.

Melvin glared at Ryo, but did not stop him. "That isn't my name now, Ryo."

Ryo froze and stopped, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, Melvin. I just … I think it really suits you. It's a little dark, almost like a deep, cruel chuckle, but then it's simple and to the point. You look like a Kek. I like it. Your name … your name is Kek," Ryo stated softly, not wanting to offend Melvin, but also wanting to use his love's true name.

"That doesn't matter!" Melvin exclaimed with a scowl. "It means god of darkness. That's what they thought of me when I was born, that I was a dark monster! It even sounds a bit like Marik. They just named me something as a default. They didn't care. They just wanted to keep me in the darkness." With each passing word Melvin gripped Ryo a bit more tightly, not even aware of his own crushing strength.

Ryo winced from the pain, but he still reached out a hand and cupped Melvin's face sweetly. "Melvin, you are a god of darkness. You're an absolute psychopath with a bloodlust the likes of which I've never seen before. They gave you a name, they did, and so they cared. You became a god to them. You're utter darkness and everything scary about and in the darkness, and yet you refuse your name? Melvin doesn't suit you at all. Melvin wasn't your real choice. Melvin doesn't define you." Ryo kissed Melvin on the lips sweetly for a calming effect. "If nothing else - if there's one thing that I know matters to you - know that it will be a lot more pleasant to scream Kek when we will have sex than Melvin. So can I, Melvin? Will you let me call you Kek?" Ryo asked with the kindest expression.

Melvin remained silent for a moment, keeping his arms around Ryo, but loosening his grip slightly. "You think I have a bloodlust?"

"Well, I think you're more of a sadist than anything," Ryo answered simply and honestly.

"You just called me a psychopath," Melvin retorted.

"I think it's kind of cute on you. A little creepy when the veins show, but cute." Ryo shrugged his shoulders, and pretended like it was only natural to find the deranged male rather handsome.

"You think I'm a god of darkness?" Melvin questioned at last. Pondering violet eyes observed the striking nonchalance in the maroon eyes. Everything seemed to depend on Ryo's final answer.

Ryo smiled and kissed his lover again. With a smirk, he confidently replied: "You're possibly _the _God of darkness."

Melvin brought Ryo closer again, but instead of merely kissing, the blond trailed his hands lower and into Ryo's pants, causing the smaller male to gasp.

"Melvin!" Ryo exclaimed, cheeks flushed.

"No," the blond replied with a smirk. "Call me Kek."

Ryo chuckled as best he could when Kek still had his hands down his pants, but moaned all the same, "Keeek! It's your turn to ask a question!"

[M*S]

Marik opened his eyes hesitantly. The blond noticed himself lying on a relatively comfy bed instead of the floor, and that Bakura was nowhere to be found. The blond lifted himself from the bed slightly, resting himself on his elbow, and wondered what exactly could have happened. With a slight awkwardness, Marik kicked his feet over the side of the bed, but before he got up, Bakura already walked into the room.

"Well," Bakura spoke dully, "What happened?" The older male's tone held a hint of accusation, but Marik let it slide.

"I'm not exactly sure. I hoped you could tell me." Marik surveyed the small room, saw the faded carpet and sheets, noted the lack of pictures or personal mementos, witnessed flies buzzing around a pizza crust on a dirty plate on the dresser, and most importantly observed the tiny gleam of gold from the Millennium Ring around Bakura's neck. "Aren't you supposed to give that back?"

Bakura sighed. The thief stared at the golden item hanging around his neck. Hesitantly, he lifted the item by its cord to pass to Marik. When Marik did not openly reach for it right when he extended the thing to him, Bakura growled. "Take it if you want it so much!"

Marik stilled. The blond eyed the object before him, and wondered what magic it truly possessed. When Marik reached for it, he also grabbed it by the cord, and placed the item to the side. "I had an … unusual dream. I found you lying on the floor, and I guess I, I guess I passed out, as well." Marik sighed and looked up at Bakura's angry eyes. "I panicked when I saw you like that. I wanted to help you, but I still failed. I failed … you. Somehow."

Bakura scrunched the bridge of his nose and turned away. "You aren't forgiven. You're bloody heavy! You had your hands on the ring, and all your body on top of me!" Bakura fumed. "I fucking worried that I'd have to hide a corpse or something! I especially didn't want to deal with yours!"

Marik smiled and stood, towering over Bakura by perhaps two or three inches, and completely forgetting about the Ring on the bed. Bakura found it too cowardly to turn away, even when he felt one of Marik's hands cup his face, almost in an endearing caress.

"Thanks for not leaving me on the floor. You … are not so bad." Marik, for whatever reason, smiled at Bakura just before leaning in to hug the other. Bakura did not wrap his arms around Marik, yet the blond knew he felt Bakura's arms twitch as though he wanted to. Every time he referred to Bakura as you, a string tugged inside him, and Marik wondered what exactly he meant by the statement. Marik did not allow himself to focus on that detail, remembering all that still needed to be done. "I should probably get back. Melvin is going to be livid with how we left the house."

Finally Bakura showed his typical smirk. "Yeah, well, it _was _a very good fight. I'm surprised no one lost a tooth." Just to be safe they both subconsciously licked their teeth to make sure all were present. "Anyway, maybe a messy home will distract that idiot from laying any fingers on Ryo."

"Ha! That is a good joke. Without our supervision, I bet they are having sex right n- We should go."

Bakura's eyes hardened, but nodded in agreement. "If they are, I'm killing you for taking so long to wake up!"

"You waited for me?" Marik asked with a smug smile.

"Of bloody course not! I just wanted you to explain what the hell happened, which you proved unable to do, useless," Bakura added with a hint of annoyance. "Besides, if I have one more damn dream or vision or whatever with those little Akefia-Namu brats, I will maim you. They're getting too bloody weird to handle!"

Marik eyed Bakura, but understood fully well. "It is closer that they, I cannot explain it well, that they just seem so personal and close-to-home at times. The one you had just now, were they of the two as children?"

Bakura remained silent for a moment. Marik had all the answer he needed, yet a thousand more came into his confused head.

"Seriously, we need to go. Your brother will die if he dares to try and touch Ryo."

The two needed no more words to be exchanged to understand the clear mission at hand: ruining their brothers' sex lives swiftly and assuredly. In their daze Marik entirely forgot to grab the Ring, forgetting its importance the more he spoke to his supposed enemy and friend.

* * *

So I will officially refer to Melvin as Kek now. I love that name, and I hope other it spreads within the fandom. It's a million times better than Melvin or Mariku or whatever. Plus, it does have meaning. I explained my love of that name within the chapter by Ryo's evil chuckle of Kek and the god of darkness thing. It's nice that he has more backstory now with his name and vaguely his and Marik's childhoods.

Quiz time!

(1) What is my favorite sentence from this chapter?

(2) Which scene/description is my third favorite within the entire story?

(3) What is my middle name? (Those who I've told are not eligible)

(4) What was the second essay on which I wrote for the timezone 1 IB History of the Americas Communism and Crisis Paper 3?

(5) Name all the senior superlatives given to the Bartow Class of 2013, who received them, and what I wore for mine.


End file.
